Love Blooms
by Sleepy Beauty
Summary: There was a pause for a moment then he said "I'm Christian." "And I'm Jewish." I muttered sarcastically. ***So what if I was being paid for sex? It was just a huge misunderstanding. My already complicated life got all the more complicated when that Copper haired jerk entered my life.*** HEA/AU
1. Chapter 1: I'm Christian

**A/N all the characters belong to E L JAMES. I'm just a fan girl with a very imaginative imagination.**

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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 1: CHRISTIAN?<span>**

His bed was warm.

I would have liked to stay there if I didn't hate him. I felt his arm tighten around my waist as I tried to soundlessly move from his bed. I didn't want him to wake up. I just wanted to go home and go sleep in my own bed.

Ethan buried his head in the crook of my neck and let out a sigh. Okay so maybe I didn't hate him.

I didn't know.

Sure Ethan was a pain in the ass sometime, but he can be sweet when he really wanted to be. But what we had was nothing but sex. No strings attached. He didn't send me flowers, take me to dates, or call me just to hear my voice, not that I would want any of that.

I turned my head away and saw the wad of cash sitting on the nightstand. In ten years I was sure I'd find the entire affair laughable.

Being paid for sex...?!

How did I end up in that situation?

This all started when Ethan assumed and misunderstood. Ethan assumed I was a Prostitute and now I am one, for him. God, I didn't even tell him my real name.

Shows how much self-respect I have, doesn't it?

Somehow, I managed to wiggle free from him. I picked my clothes from the ground and dressed myself as quietly as I could. I glanced out the window of his penthouse suite. New York was beautiful at night. Picking up my heels, I looked down at the money lying on the stand. Every time, every fucking time I debated whether I should take the money or not. And every fucking time I did.

Always.

Shaking my head I grabbed the cash and took a long look at Ethan, sprawled out, tangled sheets. He groped for me and when he realized the bed was empty he opened his eyes.

"Rose?" His voice was heavy with sleep.

"Yes?" I asked leaning over the bed.

"Stay." He said grabbing my hand.

"I never do, Ethan." I let him hold my hand.

He blinked his eyes and nodded. "Okay."

When he let go of my hand I straightened up and left the room then the apartment. I stuffed the money into my pocket as I rode the elevator down.

At the bottom, I smiled to Mr. Sawyer who worked the night shifts as the door attendant. He was always so sweet, even if he knew why I visited Ethan late at night.

"I'll get you a cab." He said with a warm smile.

I shook my head. "No thank you. I think I'll walk."

"It's very late, Miss, and very cold."

"I like the cold. Maybe it will snow." I said wrapping my arms around me. "How's your son?"

He smiled again. "He's doing well, thank you for asking."

I patted his arm. "Have a nice night, Mr. Sawyer."

"You too, Rose. Go straight home."

"I will." I said over my shoulder as I walked away.

The air was getting colder. It nipped at my face and hands. Maybe I should have let Mr. Sawyer get me a cab. I stuffed my hands into my Pockets and felt the heavy roll of money. Five thousand bucks. That right there was enough for two months rent. I thought about all the things I could buy and all the things that I can do with so much money but I knew I wouldn't. I would just save it as usual, pay the bills and my debts.

I often thought about giving Ethan his money back. I didn't know if that was crazy or not. I wondered if he'd laugh when I told him.

_It was __all just a little misunderstanding, sorry._

No, that wouldn't work. So what if he paid me? Was it really that big of a deal? I didn't ask for money, he just gave it. I shook my head knowing I was wrong. I should have said something the first time when he murmured in my ear, "_the money is on the nightstand_". I didn't even know what that meant until I saw the money actually sitting there. Yes, it was wrong to take it, but I desperately needed it at that time. Now I didn't have an excuse.

A loud grunting sound made my mind snap forward. A smack then a moan followed. I turned around to find the source of the sound. It was coming from the ally way. Okay so I know better than to enter dark alleyways at night, but there beside a cheap looking bar where two men were going at it. One was huge; like really really huge, he had to be triple my size. The other was tall-ish, lean, but had tough wide shoulders. He rammed them into larger man's stomach as they both went flying into the dirty gutter.

Men!

Their fists flew wildly without thought. It was almost funny to watch two drunken men trying to beat the shit out of each other. I put my money on the smaller one. He looked quick even if the alcohol was making him a little wobbly.

_Wham! _The hulk-sized dude took a punch to the jaw. He spit up blood and made me wince. _Ouch_. The smaller guy was thrown against the hard brick wall and collapsed against it. The large man staggered towards his crumpled body then hoisted him up by the collar of his shirt. I heard the wind fly from the smaller guy's lungs as he got a hard punch to the gut. Before he could catch his breath he threw him against the ground and straddled his hips. _Bam, _another punch to the face, then another, and another.

He was really hurting him. _Smack, smack, smack! _He just kept punching. The sound of flesh against flesh was sickening. When the man's arms fell limply against his side I rushed over.

Just plain stupid. Trust me I know.

_"Stop!"_I shouted at the hulk as he continued to punch his unconscious body. "You're going to kill him, you moron!"

The man didn't seem to see me, let alone hear me. I rushed forward and yelled for him to stop again but still nothing. Feeling brave and just a little idiotic I jumped onto the man's shoulders and wrapped my arms around his thick neck, trying to distract him. Shocked, the man leapt backwards and ripped me from his back. I shouldn't have gotten involved. He shoved me against the dirty brick wall and closed his massive hand around my neck. My eyes widened in horror as he squeezed.

"Who the fuck are you?" He slurred. His eyes were droopy and unfocused.

I couldn't breath. My heart was pounding in my ears. "I'll give you five thousand bucks to go away." I gasped as I fished around my pocket for the money.

The man blinked rapidly at me and continued to stare at my horrified expression. I should have kept walking. When I showed him the money he grabbed it immediately. Instead of letting me go he continued to squeeze my neck. Panicking, I grabbed his wrist as my breath came out in small gasps.

This is it.

I kept thinking. I was just going to die in this nasty shit hole little alley three blocks from my apartment.

Of course, that would be horribly boring if that really happened. Just as my vision was beginning to blur the smaller guy rammed his body into him and sent us both flying. The second I was able to breath I scrambled out of the way. The man who suddenly came to my rescue had the upper hand. His fists flew and fought before the larger man knew what hit him. Then his heavy body collapsed against the cold ground. He was out cold.

I waited, stunned, and still a little freaked out. I could have been home by now. Nope, instead my neck was sore and my pretty dress was partially ripped.

Not to mention I think there was a little bit of blood on it. When I got to my feet I stood and waited until I caught my breath.

"Are you okay?" A hoarse voice asked.

I looked up and saw the smaller man standing in front of me. Actually he wasn't that small at all; he just looked it next to the larger man. Well I suppose anyone would look small next to that Hulk dude.

He was actually very tall probably 6'2 even though he was hunched over in pain in front of me. I couldn't see his face because of all the hair falling in front of his eyes. Blood was matted in his hair, stained on his face and clothes.

"Are _you _okay?" I asked back.

He turned his head and spit blood. "Yeah, fine." He mumbled and walked past me.

"Wait, I'm going to call an ambulance." I shouted to him as I fished around for my cell.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." He said talking about the unconscious Hulk dude.

I looked over at him and rolled my eyes. "No, I meant for you."

"I'm fine." He coughed again, and then disappeared around the corner.

I hurried after him and nearly tripped when I caught up. "Okay you might have a concussion. Are you seeing double? Are you feeling dizzy or something? Can you breathe properly?"

"Lady, you talk too much." He mumbled and winced a little.

"I'm just trying to help." I told him.

"I don't want your help." I heard him muttering.

But being the concerned citizen that I am I followed him. The guy was walking quite fast for a man who just got a beating considering he might have cracked ribs. Feeling that I won't be leaving him anytime soon he turned around to look at me...err...no to glare at me.

"Look Lady, I'm slightly drunk and I have a headache. I can't see out of my left eye, and I'm hoping my ribs aren't broken. But what I really want right now is for you to just go away. From what I can tell you're a good looking girl, maybe you shouldn't be wandering alleys at night."

I narrowed my eyes. "I can obviously take better care of myself than you."

"I can tell, especially when that guy had his hand wrapped around your pretty little neck. Might have snapped it into little pieces."

Fine, he didn't want my help so I wasn't going to push. "Dickhead." I said under my breath and spun on my heel. That was the last time I was going to be nice to a stranger, that's for went our separate ways, but I only got a few feet before I heard him fall. Turning I saw him face down on the sidewalk with the dim lights of the bar glowing green and blue across him.

"God, like really?" I muttered to myself. I though about leaving him there. I didn't have a place in my heart for mangled and beaten drunk men. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I let out an annoyed sigh. Nobody wants to wake up broken on the sidewalk. Walking back to him I slowly helped him up. He let out a groan and tried to push away from me. "God, you're pathetic." I said pulling his arm over my shoulder and letting him put his weight on me. I heard him mumble something I couldn't hear. I don't think it was appropriate though.

It wasn't until much later that I remembered about my money. Rolling my eyes I thought about the surprise that hulk dude was going to find in his pocket when he woke up.

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><p>I looked down at his snoring body with a travel mug of coffee in my hand. I'd gotten a total of only two hours of sleep, and now I had to go to work. And<em> he<em> was still sleeping. That wasn't fair.

The plan was to check his wallet, get a cab, kick him into the cab and send him home. But of course the only things in his wallet were a few bills, a gift card to Starbucks, and a condom. No cellphone. No ID. No nothing.

It was just fucking _perfect_.

So, the only thing I new about Mr. Nobody was that he was drunk. A drunk nobody. _Even better._

I cleaned him up only because I didn't want him to get blood on my new couch. His eye was nearly swollen shut and close to the color of plums. He had a nasty bruise across his jawbone and a split lip. I wrapped his raw knuckles with some gauze, and even washed his clothes because frankly, they were covered in blood and dirt. I didn't know I was such a nice person. So what if I checked him out while I undressed him. Who wouldn't? Yes, he did have a nice body, okay so yeah he was pretty hot but that was not the point at all.

"Wake up." I said kicking the couch. He continued to snore. I kicked the couch again. "Get up!" When I pulled the pillow from under his head he let out a grunt and blinked his only good eye.

"Huh?" He asked dazed and completely hung over.

"Get up." I said again and threw his clothes at him.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked and yawned.

_Who the hell was I? _"I'm the person whose couch you're sleeping on."

He sat up and stretched as much as his sore body would allow him. Finally he noticed he was only in his boxers.

"Did we have sex?"

Rolling my eyes I sighed. "No."

I saw his eyes flicker up to mine. "Too bad."

I had enough. My soft spot for drunks was gone. "I have to get to work." Tapping my hand on my hip. I made it very obvious that I was annoyed and out of time.

He held his clothes at arms length. "My clothes smell like lemons."

"It's better than the smell of whiskey."

He pulled on his shirt and ran his hands over his chest. "Soft." He mumbled. "So, are you sure there was no sex, I'm a little sore."

"If your definition of sex is getting your crap beaten by a hulk-sized dude, then yes."

He nodded. "Ahhhhh, okay, it's all coming back. What do you do?"

"Do?"

"You said you had to get to work." He said wincing as he stood up.

"I own a shop." I mumbled and waited for him to do up his pants.

"What kind of shop?"

"Does it matter?"

"Sure."

"Flowers."

"Flowers?"

"I own a flower shop."

He nodded and looked around the room. "Cool. I like flowers."

Get out of my apartment. "Yeah…" I watched him study my apartment from where he stood. His hair were copper colored. Very beautiful though and seemed to be confused on which way it was growing. Despite his horrible messy hair he had a strong profile even if it was half swollen. His eyes were grey, maybe, I wasn't sure. His lips seemed to always be smirking, very subtle, but still there in the corner of his mouth. Even with his shirt on I could still make out the powerful lines of his shoulder muscles.

When he realized I was watching him he smirked. "How bad is my face?"

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks but quickly recover. "Have you seen _The Goonies?"_

He caught my drift and his smirk widened. "That's mean."

"You asked." I shrugged.

I turned to pick up his leather jacket from the armrest and mine too. There was a pause for a moment then he said

"I'm Christian."

"And I'm Jewish." I muttered sarcastically.

He chuckled quietly. "No, my name is _Christian_."

_"_Wow_."_

His eyebrow rose.

"Great, now you have to leave."

"Lady, you really are very eager to kick me out of your place. Aren't you?" He said with a smirk on his face.

"What gives." I muttered to myself.

At the front door I handed him his jacket and took my own from the hook. "Hold this." I handed him my travel mug as I rummaged through my bag to check for all the things I would need for the day.

"Do women really need that much crap?" He asked.

"It's better to have all this crap then find yourself with only a Starbucks gift card, and a condom."

His eye flashed. "Should I be concerned you went though my wallet?"

"Yeah, I was really temped to take your four bucks."

"I'm more concerned about the condom."

I tried not to smile. I really did, but he was kind of funny in a not so obvious way. Without saying anything I took back my mug back and opened the door for him.

He followed me, waited while I got my mail, and then stopped when we got outside. "Broadway is that way." I said pointing down the street as I put on my sunglasses and zipped up my jacket. "Have a nice life." I turned and took a few good steps before he stopped me.

"Hey, wait." He called. I turned and waited. "You're really not going to tell me your name?" He asked and dug his hands into his pocket.

"It'll give you something to wonder about."

"Do me a favor?" He asked.

"You've used up your free favors."

"Be my model."

I raised an eyebrow. "Your model?"

"I paint."

"What do you paint?"

"Hopefully you."

I laughed. "I don't think so."

He shrugged. "Worth a try. Thanks for…" He gestured to himself "…you know."

When he turned and walked away I was ashamed to find myself wondering about him. I shook it off and looked down at my mail, mostly junk and bills, except for one.

Which came from _him_.

_Jose_ _fucking_ _Rodriquez_

I stopped and stared hard at the letter. It had been forwarded twice to my current address. My fingers were ready to rip it open, but I forced myself to slip it into my purse and worry about it later. If I read it then it'd be the only thing I would think about it all day. Who was I kidding; there was no way I was going to get it out of my mind now.

Shaking my head I pulled it out of my purse and tore the top open.

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><p><strong>AN So I know this chapter wasn't much but its just the beginning and this a Ana and Christian story so a HEA is definitely guaranteed! We all have seen Christian serious and dominating and the site is filled with such stories but my story is slightly different, our CG is not the rich billionaire in this story (well he is sort of, more later) but he struggles the same way everyone normally does. I'm a huge fan of the FSoG trilogy and this is a FAN fiction so if you don't like my idea of a funny, humorous and a playful CG then I'm sorry to say this story isn't for you. Well as for the others, I hope you loved reading this story, as much I loved writing this. If you want more then write me a review/fave/follow this story! Thank you all!**

**Charlotte X**


	2. Chapter 2: Just like Elizabeth Taylor

**A/N All the characters in this story belongs to E L JAMES. I own nothing.  
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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER 2- Just Like Elizabeth Taylor<span>**

The book I was reading was dreadful.

Just D-R-E-A-D-F-U-L.

Just reading it made me want to throw up. But I had to read it, if I didn't it would hurt Mrs. Taylor's feelings and I simply couldn't hurt a sweet little lady like her. Not when she had done so much for me. I mean Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were the only family I had been left with after my father Ray passed away...

I involuntary shivered remembering the accident...

Sighing I took a deep breathe and tried to calm myself. I didn't want to have a panic attack right now and right here. Instead, I tried to concentrate myself with a badly written erotica novel in my hands.

"_PLANK OF PASSION" yeah, right!_

Just because I owned a little flower shop did not mean I was romantic and had a need to read really bad historical erotica romances.I rolled my eyes. Oh I got it, because it was about pirates…. You know, walk the _plank… _Lame. Tucking my feet under me I rested my back against the park bench. Sundays. I loved Sundays; a day just for myself. Sure, it was cold but I just loved Central Park in the fall.

It was like a dream.

I had to concentrate on the book. Gail would always ask me on our weekly calls whether I have finished her newest book or not. I was starting to run out of excuses. So I decided to pick the book up and give it a shot.

Stupid idea.

How many times could a person use the word _thrusting _in one paragraph? Um….Nine? Yes, nine times. There has to be a better word for thrusting.

As I raked my brain for a verb, a small giggle made me look up. Standing in front of me was a little girl with strawberry blonde hair.

"You have very pretty hair. Where can I get them?" She said very confidently.

I smiled at her cute face. "Awww thank you sweetheart!"

"You know I _love _ice cream. But if I eat too many my tummy hurts. Do you like my dress?" She asked twirling around.

The dress matched her pretty rimmed hat. "My mommy made it. Sometimes it takes her a long time, and she yells, '_Look at my callused fingers!' _What does callused mean?"

"Rough and thick." I looked around for her mother or anybody who looked like they were missing a child. "Where's your mommy?"

She climbed onto the bench, next to me, and swung her legs off the side. "She's at work. She works in a big building on the _very _top floor. _Sometimes _she lets me come with her and I can see _all _the tall buildings and sometimes Andrea let's me have a lollipop. She sits behind a big desk and the phone is always ringing. She must have a headache all the time. My mommy gets them when I scream. I can scream really loud, do you want to hear it?"

_Um…. _"No, I believe you. Who is watching you?"

"You are watching me."

"Who was watching you before?"

"Mia was."

"Great we're making progress. Who is Mia?"

"She's my babysitter, but I'm not a baby."

"No you're not. Do you know where Mia is?"

She shook her head then smiled widely. "There she is!" She screamed and pointed to the left.

At the sound of her little voice the girl named Mia spun around. "Oh thank God!" She ran over and picked the girl right up. "You scared me to death!" She said plopping down on the bench next to me. "I just need a minute to restart my heart." She placed the girl next to her. "Thanks for catching her." Her hair was probably the same color as raven and went up to her shoulders. And she was quite tall. At least taller than my 5'4 average height.

"I didn't do much catching." I admitted.

"She's pretty wild sometimes." She sighed. "Thanks anyway. I love your hair."

I touched the ends. "Oh really? It's way to long. I need a haircut."

"Go to the Salon on Fifth Avenue. It's called _Snips. _Tell them Mia sent you and you'll probably get a discount.

I'm Mia by the way." She said holding out her hand. I shook it.

"I'm Ava!" The girl shouted and grinned. "I can spell it! A-V-A."

Mia laughed. "She's been doing that all day. Got to run, it's lunch time!" She said jumping up and grabbing Ava's hand. Turing, they both waved, leaving me with a smile on my face.

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><p>So, another night with Ethan and another five thousand, typical. Every time he called I tried to think of an excuse, but in the end I always gave in. You're probably thinking I'm passive and I have no self-respect. But really, I just like sex.<p>

Not in that crazy Samantha Jones kind of way.

No strings attached sex is so simple and easy. Nothing wrong with that… it's just the whole money part. Maybe I am passive… Or maybe I like money. But its not like I misused money. _Whatever. _

I was cold, and that was mostly because I wasn't wearing a coat. Why wasn't I wearing a coat? Well, I took a cab, so I figured I wouldn't need it. So instead of having Mr. Sawyer call me a cab I thought I'd just catch one on my way home. So far, no cab. This is New-freaking York; you'd think there would be at least one freaking cab free.

So I wrapped my arms around myself cursing my kick ass red dress and heels. That was a problem with Ethan. He liked when I dressed up just to see him. That was a pain in the ass. Think about it; get dressed up only to take it off? Stupid if you ask me.

I hate November, I thought bitterly. The wind picked up and I braced myself against it. At least there was hot chocolate at home.

At some point between Ethan's place and mine my heel snapped right off. I let out a weird squeak and stumbled forward. _Damn shoe. _I looked down and blew my bangs out of my eyes. When I picked up the heel I had to frown. They were Italian… All girls have a soft side for pretty European heels.

"Oh hey," Someone said right next to me. My heart literally jolted in my chest. I spun around ready to hit anybody with my broken shoe.

It was _him… _He was standing there in a tux. Yes, a tux. God, what was his name? Carl? Cole? Cale? Charlie? He looked different.

Completely different. He actually had a face under all those bruises and cuts. They'd healed since last time I saw him. His weird hair was actually somewhat tamed. The tuxedo was a surprise, I mean the last time I saw him he was lying in a gutter. I guess the only thing missing now was a top hat. "Wait…" I said holding up my hand and trying to remember his name. "You are that drunken mangled guy, right?"

"Just Christian is fine."

"So, _Just Christian_. Are you following me?" I narrowed my eyes and looked up at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why would I follow you?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"No. And if I was, why would I do it looking like a penguin waiter?"

"Good point."

He waited a minute. "Are you following _me?_"

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why would I follow _you?"_

He smiled. "This conversation is obviously going in a circle. What happened to your shoe?"

"It broke, obviously."

"Well they can only hold so much weight."

My eyes narrowed and went cold. "Are you insinuating something?"

He shrugged. "Just stating a fact."

Annoyed I handed him my shoe, which he took absently while I took off the other. "I'll have you know," I said while whacking my unbroken heel against a lamppost a few times until it snapped off. "that I am the perfect weight for my height." I snatched my other shoe from him and slipped them back on. I went down about an inch.

"Would that be before or after you broke your shoes?" He smirked.

"Are you always so snide?" I said slinging my purse over my shoulder.

"I'm not sure. Maybe."

Rolling my eyes I began to walk away. He felt the need to walk along side of me. "It's cold." He said after a moment of silence. "You don't have a coat."

"That's right." I said sharply as we rounded a corner. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him shrug out of his fancy jacket and hold it out for me. "I'm not cold."

"You're shivering."

I groaned. "I still don't want your jacket."

"Why not? You're cold, I have this jacket. It'd be ridiculous not to wear it."

I stopped and turned to him. Letting out a huff I pushed my hair out of my face. "If I wear your jacket then you'll be cold."

"Naw, I have this funny _Pinocchio _vest." He said tugging on the black vest.

"It's called a _jacquard _vest."

He looked amused. "I won't remember that in five minutes. So are you going to take it?"

"What?"

He rolled his eyes. "The jacket."

"No." I spun on my heelless shoe and marched away. His legs were longer so it didn't take any effort for him to catch up.

"Are you usually this stubborn or is today something special?" He asked.

"I don't know, it depends."

"On what?"

_Jeez, _what was his deal? "Look, can you leave me alone? I don't want, nor need your company or your jacket."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I waited for him to walk away, but he didn't. He simply threw his jacket over his shoulder and dug his hands into his pockets. I kept walking and he kept walking, it was very weird. _"What?"_

He looked over at me. "What?"

"I thought you were going to leave me alone."

"I am, but I have to walk this way." He said pointing down the street. "I live in this direction."

_For Christ's sake. _Huffing I wrapped my arms around myself. "Fine."

There was some more awkward silence. I think he even was uncomfortable so he asked, "Why are you all dressed up?"

I thought about telling him to screw off but that seemed childish and stupid. "I…"_was getting paid for sex. _"was on a date."

He nodded. "Same."

"How'd it go?"

"Not well since I'm going home alone." My eyebrow shot up, which made him laugh. "No, it was a fake date."

"A fake date?"

"Yeah this friend of mine, she had this fancy party to launch her new dresses or whatever. She's a designer." He looked over at me then pulled his jacket off his shoulder and draped it over mine. I pretended not to care. "So she called me, completely hysterical and in tears telling me I needed to be her date tonight. Apparently it's horribly _un-cool _to go to your own party alone."

"It is."

"So after moaning about how I'd rather stay home and watch a Clint Eastwood marathon all night I let her dress me up and cart me around a party."

"How nice of you."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn't too bad, until I ate snail by accident."

"Ew…"

"Exactly what I was thinking. I thought it was… something else. How was your date?"

I shrugged just the same as him. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine."

"Okay then." I put my arms through the sleeves of his jacket and wrapped it tightly around myself. "You still haven't told me your name."

"Why do you need to know my name so bad?"

"Why not? Is it really bad, like _Gertrude _or something?"

I smiled. "No it's not bad."

"Are you really going to make me guess. At least tell me it's not something with 'lyn at the end. I have a hard time with those girls." He sighed.

"Ana." I said rolling my eyes.

"Hmm?"

"My name is Ana."

He considered it a moment. "Um…please don't tell me that's short for Annabelle? Because frankly that name is quite scary."

I chuckled quietly.

"Is that short for something? Don't say Annabelle please."

"Anastasia."

He smiled. "Hmmm...Much better than Annabelle, though. So, Anastasia-"

"It's Ana." I said cutting him off.

"Come on, I like Anastasia."

Rolling my eyes again I asked, "Suit yourself."

There was pause for a minute. No one of us said anything. But this silence wasn't awkward it was quite comforting.

Out of the blue he said "You are looking beautiful."

My cheeks burned and I bit the inside of my cheek. "Really?" He shrugged, and I found myself liking the way he rolled his shoulders. Ethan didn't said that but when again he actually sees me in that way other than sex. Not that I wanted him to though.

"I have eyes, don't I?" I was trying really hard not to smile. No one had ever called me beautiful before. "What's your favorite color, Ana?"

"My favorite color?" I was still trying clear my head. "Purple."

"Like your eyes." He added.

I looked up. "My eyes?"

"You're eyes are violet."

"They're blue."

"They're violet."

I've had this argument with people. It was easier just to say my eyes are blue. "Well, I guess you could say that."

"I could, and I am. Just like Elizabeth Taylor."

Ray used to call me Elizabeth Taylor when I was younger.

"They're blue."

With a roll of his eyes, he simply let it go. "Purple…" He seemed to consider it. "Lilacs are purple aren't they?"

"And pink and white." I didn't add that they were my favorite flower.

"How could I get my hands on some?" He asked while he fished around in his pocket, and then pulled out a cigarette. "Do you mind?" He asked before he lit it.

I shook my head. "It's your funeral."

"I've heard that before." He chuckled then blew smoke out of his mouth. "Where do I get some lilacs?" He asked again.

"I could order them for you." _Why did I say that? _"Why do you need lilacs?"

"Why do you need to know?" He threw back with a smirk. "So can you do that, order them?"

"Yeah, I guess. It'll cost you."

"Doesn't everything?"

"Yeah… I need your number."

He flashed that smile. "I suppose you do. Got a pen?"

I fished around in my purse for a pen. God knows I had everything else. "I have… lipstick." I said pulling it out.

He laughed and took it. "You have everything in your bag but a pen, that's funny." He let his cigarette hang between his lips as he grabbed my arm. His hands were rough and firm. I started to wonder what he did to get them that way. The lipstick felt sticky as he wrote his number on my arm. "You should write that down before it smudges." He said handing me back my tube.

"Don't worry this stuff lasts eight hours." I said looking up at him. He was looking down, waiting for something. I blinked. "What?"

"You live here." He said nodding towards my building.

I spun around and realized he was right. "Oh, yes." I said blinking at the small building with wide windows. "I do live here. Where do you live? You said it was in this direction."

He nodded. "Yeah, I live in Soho."

"SOHO?! That's… far."

"Yeah, it is."

"You're going to walk there?"

He shook his head. "No, I was going to take a cab."

"Good luck with that." I mumbled. "You didn't have to walk with me."

He smiled. "You weren't too unpleasant. At least I got your name and a bunch of flowers out of the ordeal."

I only nodded and turned to walk up the stairs. I remembered his jacket and took it off. "I really wasn't that cold." I lied and handed it to him.

"Just say thank you."

Rolling my eyes I smiled a little. "Yeah, thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ana." He said as he walked away.

Even though I couldn't see it, I just knew he was smirking as he walked down the street and around the corner.

* * *

><p><strong>AN So how was it? Liked it? Many of you said you liked the idea of this story and where it is heading. Well so what do you guys think of this second chapter so far. I have already imagined the whole story and even its ending! So if you guys want more I promise to update regularly. Just leave me a review!**

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	3. Chapter 3: Do you think it's fate?

**A/N ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO E L JAMES AND I'M JUST BORROWING THEM. **

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 3- Now that was Freudian slip<strong>

"Maybe he's gay." Elizabeth said as she delicately placed flowers into a vase.

"He's _not _gay." I said with a roll of my eyes. "He's just odd…"

"Why would any straight man want a bunch of lilacs?" She questioned as if she knew everything. "I bet he wants to roll around in them or something _kinky_ like that." She mumbled. "Remember Jack? Now that guy was odd."

Elizabeth was so straight forward sometimes it almost hurt. If she didn't like my hair, she'd walk around the shop with a pair of scissors in her hand as a threat. If I told her I didn't like a certain song she happened to like, she'd find something wrong with all my favorite music. And she always had weird excuses for everything. Apparently the reason she dyed her hair bright pink was because she thought it would appeal more to customers if the employees looked like flowers.

Yeah..._whatever._

Sometimes she was a pain in my ass, but at least she was never late.

"Jack?" I asked swiping my hair from my face.

"Yeah Jack, he was such a little shit. I dated him for like two months."

"Why did you date him for two months if he was such a shit?"

"A little one." She corrected, and then moved the vase by the window. "I thought he was alright at first, maybe even a little charming." Elizabeth had a way of walking which made her seem like she was on rollers. It was somewhat creepy. But what can I say it's a talent. I sighed audibly.

"_Then," _She said loudly and spun around. "I found out that little shit was stealing my undies."

I looked up completely confused. "What?"

"My bra and panties, you know those really cute ones that I got from Victoria's Secret." She said as if I were supposed to know that.

"God, really?" I asked.

"Yeah and he took all the nice and expensive ones that I got on discou-" She stopped and shook her head. "Not the point. The point was Jack."

"Jack, the guy who stole your undies."

"Yeah! So, at first I didn't suspected anything I mean I thought I must have kept them somewhere and forgotten about them. But then one day Jack asked if I had any more new undies. And when I asked him whether he was the one stealing my bras and panties, do you know what his reply was?" She paused and looked at me when she realized I was typing away on my laptop and barely listening to her. "Listen, this is the good part." She ordered and snapped her finger. I looked up and raised my brow. "So, Jack asked for more undies. And his reason was because he wanted my scent on him at all times."

She waited for my reaction but I was still processing it. "Why?" I eventually asked.

She shrugged. "He was madly in love with me or something. I dumped him right then and there of course. How creepy is that? Taking my panties! The nerve!" She was nodding and waiting for me to agree with her. "So now anytime a guy asks for something weird, I dump him. One guy asked me to go to the store and buy him cigarettes and doilies."

I sighed. "Let me guess? You dumped him?"

"Damn straight! I want a man, like a lumberjack or something! Not a guy who likes doilies."

"A lumberjack?" I asked just as Hannah walked through the door. Hannah always reminded me of a mouse. Even her hair was mousy, and she never seemed to know what to do with it. She was tiny and always nervous for absolutely no reason. The moment she stepped into the shop, she exploded with apologies. "I'm _so _sorry. I really had no intension of being late."

I smiled at her, _typical_ _Hannah_. "Do you ever intend on being late?"

She blinked her large dark eyes. "Well, um… no. But you see, my alarm clock, I forgot to turn it on. Then I was rushing and fell down the stairs. When I was finally on the bus, I realized I'd forgotten my wallet, so I had to walk. Then an old lady pulled my hair for no reason. I still don't understand why a person would randomly pull someone's hair. It makes no sense."

"You fell down the stairs?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, but I'm fine. The hardwood broke my fall."

"God, you're weird." She sighed. "Did Ana tell you about the odd guy who ordered lilacs?"

Hannah pulled off her coat and moved behind the counter with me. "Todd?"

"Not Todd… Odd."

"Who's odd?"

"He's only a little odd." I added quickly.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and tucked a lock of pink hair behind her ear. "You're only saying that because you want him in your panties."

I threw a pencil at her. "I don't want him anywhere near my panties!" I considered it a moment then shook the thought out of my head. Besides, I had..._Ethan_. Of course, Elizabeth and Hannah didn't know about that. No one did.

"Dude," Elizabeth said ignoring the pencil. "It's totally okay if you want to bang the weird guy. Someone has got to."

"I-"

"When was the last time you had a boyfriend, Ana?" Hannah randomly asked.

"No," Elizabeth cut in. "When was the last time you got laid."

_How about last week… _I was trying very hard to not roll my eyes. "I don't see how that is any of your business." I said typing away on the laptop.

Elizabeth was rolling her eyes. I just knew it. "Well back to what I was saying…" She continued.

Hannah cut in before I could be embarrassed any more. "Ana, why do you have a letter from some dude called _Jose Rodriquez?"_

I swear all the color drained from my face. Looking over at her, I saw she had the opened envelope in her hand.

"_Jesus _Han!" I shouted making her jump. "Don't go through my bag!" Quickly I snatched the letter from her and practically balled it in my hands.

"I didn't!" She said, eyes wide with fear. She knew how to make me feel bad. "It was sitting on the counter." She said.

Elizabeth came closer, probably hoping to see the letter. "Who's that?" I groaned and grabbed my bag. "Just some nobody. Why are you guys crowding me?" I said glaring at them. "You know how much I hate that!" Hannah immediately backed up as if I were dangerous. Elizabeth did not. "It's nothing you guys, jeez. No need to get worked up over it."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. "We're not. You're the one with the white knuckles." I looked down, she was right. My hands were balled so tightly my knuckles were colorless. Lifting my gaze to Elizabeth I narrowed my eyes until I could barely see her. Before I could say anything, the small bell over the door jingled. All three of us looked up. A tiny bald man strolled in with a polite smile on his face.

"We're closed." I snapped. "Get out."

The man simply blinked, looking shocked and stepped backwards out of the shop. I didn't wait for Hannah to apologize for mentioning the letter or for Elizabeth to poke at me until I spilled. I grabbed my coat, my bag, and the letter then left the shop.

Sometimes I thought it might be easier if I didn't have any friends.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"Ana,<strong>_

_**It took me two weeks to build up the courage to write this. I still don't know what to say to you. I guess I should say how sorry I am. I won't because I know how much you hate it. The main reason I'm writing this is because I thought you should know that I'm getting married. December 15**__**th**__** actually. I don't know if-"**_

The waitress came with my coffee and made me fold the letter onto my lap. I could only manage a small smile before I smoothed the letter open on the table again.

_**"I don't know if you care, but I just thought you should know. If you want to see me then you know where to find me. Don't worry, I wont expect you. Somehow I feel better knowing you know.**_

_**Sorry I let you down,**_

_**Jose."**_

I didn't cry. Crying was pointless and made you seem weak. Besides, I didn't even _want _to cry. I didn't feel anything. _Should I be concerned that wasn't feeling anything?_ Just because my boyfriend of three years cheated on me and got some other girl pregnant…

I folded the letter and the wedding invitation and put it back in my bag. I wasn't clear on what I was supposed to think or feel. I didn't feel anything for him. Was I supposed to see him? Did I want too?

No. I don't want to. Frankly, I had actually forgotten about him until his letter came up. I mean what does that guy want now...?

Remembering all those years ago when I was with Jose, I don't think so I was ever in love with him or anything. I mean I was eighteen and recently had lost my father and Jose was there for me every time I needed him. We both technically never dated though, sure, we kissed a few times, and there was a time when I thought that I had a crush on him.

But that was it.

A crush was all I had for him and by summer, I was over him. We never went out on dates, didn't go out for movies or all the stuff that normal teenagers in relationship do. Sometimes I thought about ending our relationship because it wasn't going anywhere and I knew wont go anywhere but every time I tried to, I could not.

I felt wrong for misleading Jose when all he was to me was a good friend. At that time, I had nobody except the Taylors and the Rodriquez family and that as the reason why I didn't broke up with Jose in the first place. I didn't want him to leave me too when he was the only friend I had.

I know it was selfish of me, but can you blame me?

Looking down at my coffee, I frowned. I didn't even want it anymore. So was it wrong of me that I actually felt relieved when I read that letter. Hearing that José was finally getting married to the same girl he knocked up four years ago.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Now I had one less thing to worry about. I smiled a small smile with my eyes closed.

"This is a funny coincidence. Do you think it's fate?"

I cringed.

_PERFECT. _

_JUST FUCKING PERFECT. NOW ADD ONE MORE ITEM IN MY TO-WORRY-ABOUT-BASKET. A COPPER HAIRED JERK._

I knew that voice. "Dammit," I cursed and looked up. Why was he _everywhere? __Christian_… His hair were wet and stuck to his forehead.

"A coincidence? Are you sure you're not following me?" I snapped and hoped my emotions weren't all over my face.

"I might as well since we're obviously drawn to each other." He placed a large drawing book on the table and sat down. "You haven't called me." He added with a smirk.

I wasn't in the mood for his oddness. "Why would I call… oh… um…I know since I was the one _not _calling you."

His mossy eyes roamed my face. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I said much too quickly.

"Do you normally smile with your eyes closed over nothing?"

Offended I sat up straight. "I'm not smiling."

"You were, until I came along. And quite frankly that was little creepy."

"So?" I said grabbing my bag and standing up. "Now do I have to take your permission for smiling over nothing?"

He reached smirked, grabbed my hand, and said in a monotonous voice, "Fine, I'm wrong. Sit down."

I looked down at him. "I have to go."

He gave me a lazy look from under his lashes. "No you don't. Sit down; you haven't touched your coffee. Besides you can't go out yet."

I tugged at my hand. "Why not?"

"It's pouring."

Looking outside I realized, in fact, it was pouring. That explained his wet hair and leather jacket. "Oh," I said relaxing. I hate rain. He smiled when I loosened and lowered into my chair. "And I wasn't smiling over nothing," I added sharply. "I'm just in a...good mood." _Until you came along._

"Doesn't look like that to me" he muttered to himself. He sounded like a sulky teenager. I smiled and looked up at him. He looked kinda cute when he sulked actaully. When he saw me staring at him he rose up his brow in question.

"Seriously Ana you gotta stop smiling like that, because quite frankly you are scaring the shit out of me." He said in a dead serious tone but his grey eyes were mischievous. I chuckled quietly.

The waitress came over with a oh-so wide smile on her face. "Can I get you something?" she asked in what I thought was a flirty tone.

He flashed that dazzling smile back at her. "Yeah, coffee, black. Oh and do you have a box of Kleenex? She's about to cry out of joy."

The waitress looked over at me and frowned. I wanted to pour my hot coffee all over him. "Yeah sure. Be back in a sec."

"You're impossible."

He shrugged. "What can I say? You can't get rid of me that easily." He winked at me.

"Alright, so tell me Ana who is this all mighty person that brought a smile on your beautiful face because it certainly wasn't me. I live with a girl you know, so I know a little bit about how the _women_ brain works."

I didn't want to tell him the whole story. I barely knew the guy. "I just…nothing." I rubbed my temples. "I think Elizabeth's pink hair is starting to get on my nerves."

He practically gasped. "No way, you have a friend with pink hair? I have a friend with blue hair!"

I looked up. "Wow…" I rolled my eyes.

"We should get them together, and they can have little purple headed freaks. They'd be like _Troll dolls." _My lips twitched. I bit down to stop from smiling. He noticed. "So where are my lilacs, and how much is it going to cost?"

"I didn't know how many you wanted so I ordered a box."

"How big is the box?"

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and remember how bad I looked. I barely had time to do my hair that morning, so I simply wound it into a really messy bun held together by awkward bobby pins. "I don't know…like the generic box size." I said taking out the pins, one by one.

"How much will that cost?" He asked keeping his eyes on me.

I rolled my shoulders and pocketed the pins. "I can't remember, forty, fifty."

"For flowers?"

"Yup." I ran my fingers through my long hair wishing it were shorter and more manageable. _I probably _looked like a troll doll. "How does my hair look?" I asked fiddling.

"Soft." He said. I stopped and locked my eyes with his. "I mean, fine."

I smiled; I couldn't help it. "That," I grinned. "Was a Freudian slip."

"Well, I've been known to slip up a few times. You should drink your coffee."

I tucked my hair behind my ear then folded my hands on the table. "Look Christian," I started making my voice very firm.

"Ouch, you used _the_ _tone. _I hate _the_ tone; it hurts my eardrums." He flinched.

I ignored him and continued. "I get it, you like me. But I'm not going to sleep with you."

His eyebrow went up and he smirked. "Wow that was blunt." He folded his hands on the table, I guess to mock me. "I wasn't trying to get you into bed."

Something told me he was lying. "I don't believe you."

"Fair enough."

Now I felt stupid. I hated when people made me feel like that. "So, you don't like me?"

"I like you."

"But you don't find me attractive?"

"I believe Freud already answered that question."

"Are you gay?"

"Definitely not."

"All right then." I didn't understand him, and I didn't want to. "It stopped raining. I've got to go."

When I stood, he did the same. "I'll walk with you."

Because I was frustrated, it took me longer than usual to put on my coat. "Why?"

"I thought we were friends."

_Friends? _"You're so odd."

He opened his mouth but closed it when the waitress came back. "No coffee?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "Sorry, darling. Next time." She smiled and walked away. I turned and did the same.

Outside the air was freezing. I fished around my bag for my hat and pulled it over my head. Christian was right next to me. "Cute hat. You forgot to pay for your coffee." He said ducking his head against the wind.

I stopped. _"Shit." _Quickly, I spun around to go back, but he caught me.

"I paid, don't worry."

My eyes found his. "Why would you do that?"

"It was just fifty bucks, relax." He had his hand around my arm from when he grabbed me. The side of my body was against his. Too close. He smelt like… fish...?

"Why do you smell like a fish tank?" I asked.

He didn't let go. "I was down at the loading docks. They were unloading fish."

"Why were you there?"

"Sometimes I help out, sometimes I draw."

I was waiting for him to let go, but he didn't. "Draw?"

"I told you I draw."

"You told me you painted."

"I do that as well."

I didn't know what to say. He was still holding onto me. "Who is she?"

He tilted his head. "Who?"

"The girl you live with."

He smiled. "Why does it matter?" _Dammit _Ana, why would you ask that? He mocked me. I felt my cheeks flush.

"Aren't _friends _allowed to ask questions?"

"I think you might have slipped up yourself, Ana." He said smugly. I glared. "She's only thirteen…" He stopped and considered it. "Fifteen… seventeen... Shit… What's the date today?"

"Um… I think it's the-"

"Oh, I'm in such deep shit…" He let go and began to pace. "_Dammit_, it's her birthday. Oh my God… She's going to kill me. I need your help."

I blinked up at him. "What?"

"Okay, I need balloons… um… a card… cake…" He began to walk away still muttering to himself. I hurried after him and nearly banged into his back when he stopped short outside a pet store. "A puppy!" He shouted. "She loves puppies!"

"You're going to buy her a puppy?!"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Um… I don't know."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the store. The second we entered all the puppies by the window began to bark. "Pick out the cutest one." He said shoving me towards them. The all started to bite and nip closer to me.

I had to decide which puppy? How the hell was I supposed to do that? What if I picked the dog with a fatal disease? Or maybe I'll pick the retarded dog.

"Um…" I said looking over at Christian who was trying to pick out dog food. "Big or small."

"Don't care." He said with a wave of his hands.

"Can I help you?" A woman magically appeared next to me.

I jumped a little. "Yeah… I need a dog."

"What kind of dog?" She asked.

"Doesn't matter." I shrugged.

She shot me a weird look then looked down at the dogs. "I suggest a Labrador; they're very friendly, especially with kids." I looked at the cute puppies; even _I _wanted one now. I loved their clumsy oversized paws and floppy ears, but they didn't catch my attention. A few rows down was a little funny looking puppy sitting all alone. I went over to his window box and stared down at him. The dog was skinny and had no hair except for his head, paws, and tail. His funny ears stuck out sideways and trembled.

"What's wrong with this one?" I asked.

I heard the woman sigh. "Nothing, she's a Chinese crested. That's just the way they look."

"She's so funny looking."

"Nobody wants her."

"_Awwwww…" _I sighed and patted her little head. "I guess you're coming home with us."

The woman looked shocked. "Really, you want her?"

"Yeah, I do, but she's a birthday gift for someone else."

Just then, Christian popped beside me. "Did you pick a dog?" He asked holding a large bag of puppy chow. I smiled and lifted the funny looking dog into the air. Christian scrunched his face. "Gross, what is that?"

"It's a puppy."

"What happened to it?"

"You told me to pick a dog and I did."

"I told you to pick a _cute_ one." He turned to the woman. "How much?"

"Seven hundred."

He nearly dropped the puppy chow. _"Excuse me?"_

"Believe me, the rest are more expensive." She said.

"We might as well go to Chinatown and pick up a _Gremlin." _Christian made a weird sound in the back of his throat.

"Fine, get the dog."

The lady rang everything up and Christian nearly cried when he paid. I watched in amusement as he tried to carry the bag of food, and his large drawing pad. It was very funny.

"If she doesn't like the dog, I'm blaming you." He said as we walked out of the pet shop. Christian hailed a taxi and opened the door for me. "Get in."

I smiled and shook my head. "Don't think so, I got to get back to work."

He shot me an evil glare. "You're just going to ditch me with the _ugliest_ _dog_ _ever_?"

"Yep." I handed him the dog and he managed to tuck her under his arm. "Have fun."

He looked ridiculous with an ugly dog, a very large drawing pad, a big bag of puppy chow and an annoyed expression. The moment was picturesque. I chuckled quietly.

I turned away from them but stopped when he called me.

"Hold on, do you… do want to do this again?"

I shot him a weird look. "Buy more puppies?"

"No…" He said with a loud sigh. "Get together, order coffee, but not drink it. Something like that."

I grinned at his hopeless expression. "I thought you weren't trying to get me into bed?"

He shrugged. "I'm not, even though you are very beautiful. It'd just be nice to have a new friend."

I bit my lip. _Beautiful_, huh? "Maybe later. I'll call you when your flowers are in."

With a small wave and a stupid smile on my face, I left him standing there with a strange look on his face but I could make out that his lips were twitching.

Suddenly I was excited thinking about when I would meet him next time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN So now you know about Ana and Jose. Don't worry a much fuller and detailed version of what exactly happened with them will be revealed in the coming chapters. But don't fret, Jose is just a side character and won't be making an appearance anytime soon. As for Jack, I think this will be the only time his name would be mentioned in this story (hopefully!). **

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**Once again a BIG HUG AND KISS to all those who favorited and followed this story. I can't thank you all enough! Chapter 4 is almost done just some final touches. I'll try to update as soon as possible! **

**Charlotte X**


	4. Chapter 4: Just imagine a color

**A/N I just wanted to make this clear that this story is an A&C story so a HEA is 100% guaranteed. Many of you were asking me this so just thought to clear this up. Also Jose and Ethan are back ground characters and won't be appearing that much. Few main characters are yet to be introduced though. :) **

_* A teeny tiny extract from chapter 5 in the end* CHECK IT OUT!_

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 4- Just Imagine a color<strong>

Okay, so what if I liked Christian. I mean, he was decent, right?

He definitely had a way of getting under my skin and making me think about him, that's for sure. It's just… he seemed like one of those uncomplicated people you'd like to hang out with on a lazy afternoon. Plus, it didn't hurt that he was _slightly _gorgeous. And by slightly I mean mostly.

So, when Christian's generic sized box of flowers rolled in on a Monday morning I was… maybe… almost… a little excited to have a reason to call him. But not in a screamy-teenage girl kind of way. Just in the… normal way.

I tried to control my enthusiasm as I grabbed the phone and dialed the number I sort of… maybe…remembered it by heart. Come on, it wasn't a hard number to remember. Really it wasn't. I just happened to memorize it.

Someone answered on the fourth ring. "_Yelllooooow." _It wasn't Christian it was a girl's voice.

I froze. "Hello?"

"Hello?" She said back. _Hopefully_ she was just the girl who lived with Christian.

_Hopefully_? I meant… whatever. I didn't care…

"Hi,"

"Hey,"

I rolled my eyes. "Ah… is Christian there?" I felt like a teenager again. I really didn't like it.

"He's sleeping." She told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh well… then…"

"Hold on, I'll wake him."

I didn't really want her to wake him, but since I could hear her walking across the floor to wherever he was sleeping I simply sighed. A door opened with a loud creak in the background. I strained myself to hear.

"Christian, get your ass up. You can't sleep 'till noon anymore. It's getting pathetic." I heard the girl say. There was a muffled response and then a loud yawn. "I'm going to pour cold water on you again."

"I'm awake, jeez." I heard his sleepy voice and almost laughed. "Why are you wearing spandex?"

I raised an eyebrow. "It's not spandex." She explained with a huff. "They're leotards, I've explained this many times."

"You look like you belong in _munchkin land." _He mumbled.

"I'm going to dance class, there are eggs on the stove, and don't forget to feed Bella."

"It's your dog…" There was a smack and a small grunt. "Fine, what does it eat? Toxic waste? Small children?"

"Funny. The phone is for you."

I heard the phone being passed and waited. "Yes?" Christian asked briskly and a little annoyed.

"Do you really sleep until noon?" I asked him.

There was a pause. "Ana my good friend, how is the day treating you?"

I laughed a little at the change of his tone. "Fine."

"Fine is a very vague response." He said back. I heard him walking across a hardwood floor. I could imagine him with sleep still clouding his eyes and hair messy from his pillow. "Try again."

I smiled. "Well, I got to work this morning and found my shop up in flames."

I heard his feet stop moving. "Are you serious?" He asked in complete shock.

"No." I chuckled. "It's been a pretty uneventful day."

I guessed he was in the kitchen since I could hear him banging pans around. "Don't do that. I feared for my flowers."

"Oh…" I sighed dramatically. "I thought maybe you'd be concerned more about _me_."

"Only a little."

"I'll take what I can get."

I could hear him smiling, I swear. "How are my flowers?"

"Fine." I said only to annoy him.

"I hate that word." He grumbled.

I might have been blushing, but I couldn't be sure. "Great, fantastic, splendid, amazing, magnificent…. I'm running out."

"Grand, majestic, sumptuous_." _He supplied easily.

"No, your flowers certainly aren't sumptuous. I got you the non-sumptuous ones." _Ew, was I flirting. _I shouldn't…

"Too bad," He sighed then there was a small bark. "Go away, dog." He murmured. "I can't believe I let you pick this _thing. _I've caused prettier road kill."

"That's horrible. But you have to admit, she's kind of cute."

_He snorted. "Yeah, if I close my eyes."_

"Don't be mean. Did she like her?"

"Who? Oh, yeah she _loves _it. But she still knew I forgot her birthday."

"Girls pick up on things like that." I said as Elizabeth walked in with her bright pink hair looking like a bird nested there. "Good morning, Lizzie." I added in a cheery voice.

"It certainly isn't!" She moaned before bursting into tears and running into the storage room. I blinked after her then rolled my eyes. _Oh God no!_

"Gotta go! I've got a crying employee on my hands."

He laughed. "What about my flowers?"

"Come pick them up." I told him while looking over at the closed storage room door.

"I have a better idea." He told me. "Why don't you bring them here?"

"I don't know where _here _is."

"I don't know _where_ you are."

"I'll tell you."

"Or I could tell you where I am." He said smoothly. "Come on, I know you want to see me."

My eyes rolled. _Boys. _"And you know how...?"

"Boys pick up on things like that." He mimicked. "Besides I want to show you something."

I have to admit that I was curious.

Wouldn't you be?

I bit my lip. "What is it?"

"You'll have to come and see."

It was probably a bad idea, or maybe it was fabulous idea, but it was very hard to see the pros in getting emotionally attached to a guy I found drunk in a gutter. Plus, I was _not _going to sleep with him. I absolutely was _not_. "All right then." I said eventually. "It better be good. What's your address?"

I scribbled it down then hung up. Resting my elbows on the counter I tried to guess all the reasons Christian would need a box of flowers and what was waiting for me at his place. It made me excited in a sick sort of way. I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from smiling. "Oh!" I realized Elizabeth was still sitting in the closet bawling her eyes out. I raced to the door and pulled it open.

Elizabeth was sitting on a bag of fertilizer with a wad of Kleenex in her hand. She looked up at me with large red eyes. "_He asked me to marry him!"_

_Oh dear God…_

I honestly didn't know what to do. I really wasn't one of those girls who always had valuable advice in the bottom of her trendy purse. "Um…" I said easing towards. "Who?"

She wiped her eyes. "It doesn't matter…"

I closed the door behind me and sat down next to her on another bag of fertilizer. "It doesn't?"

"What am I supposed to do? No one has ever wanted to marry me before."

_Ditto. _"Well, usually you say yes, or no." I looked down at her in confusion.

"_Ana_, you don't get it!"

"No, I don't. Mostly since you haven't even mentioned that you were dating someone."

She sniffled and tucked her hair behind her ears. "He's just this guy I went out with a few times and then I guess it got serious." She hiccupped. "And he's really great in bed." She added as a sigh.

"How long have you known him?"

"Two months!" She started crying all over herself again.

I blew my extra long bangs out of my hair and sighed. "Wow… that's… wow."

"I think I'm in love with him! Me! I thought I was a rational person."

I exhaled and leaned my back against the wall. "I don't think you can be rational and in love at the same time."

She continued to cry for what seemed like forever, so, I was grateful when I heard the tiny bell above the door jingle. "I'll be back." I said to her as I left the closet.

_What the hell was I supposed to do with Elizabeth?_

The man standing in the middle of the shop, with his back towards me, had bright blue hair reminded me of what Christian had said about his friend and Elizabeth the other day.

_"I think Elizabeth's pink hair is starting to get on my nerves."_

_He practically gasped. "No way, you have a friend with pink hair? I have a friend with blue hair!"_

_I looked up. "Wow…" I rolled my eyes._

_"We should get them together, and they can have little purple headed freaks. They'd be like __Troll dolls." _

I smiled thinking about Christian. The blue haired dude spun around and locked his brown eyes on mine. "Where's Elizabeth?" He asked frantically.

I raised my eyebrows… _Oh! _"No way…" I murmured then laughed. "You're the guy? Seriously...?!"

His eyes narrowed. "I hope so." He was tall, almost freakishly so and had a body of a bouncer to be exact.

"Who would have _thought_? Fuck!" _Oh dear lord_! _This is definitely fate! _

His eyes continued to narrow. "What?."

"Do you know Christian?"

He shot we a weird glance. "Yes… Are you Ana?"

I grinned. "He talks about me?"

"You've been _mentioned_."

Blush crept to my cheeks. "What does he say?"

He put up a hand. "That's confidential guy information. Where is Elizabeth?"

I was still high on the fact that Christian _mentioned _me_. _"Her location is confidential girl information."

He frowned and practically collapsed against the counter. "Please tell me where she is. I love her." How could I argue? He had blue hair for Christ's sake. Plus, guys are cute when they're completely defenseless and helplessly in love. I was about to confess when Elizabeth came out of the closet dabbing her watery eyes. The second she saw Mr. Blue hair she narrowed her eyes.

"Did you follow me?" She demanded.

He stood up straight. "No, I knew where you worked. You told me."

She huffed and tried to appear unaffected. "Well, what do you want?"

I laughed. "He wants to marry you, obviously." She shot me an evil look then turned back to him.

He took a step towards her and she quickly pulled out a long-stemmed daisy from a nearby bouquet. She held it in front of her as if it was a deadly weapon. He stopped as if it were. "Stay back." She warned and pointed the droopy flower at his heart.

"Come on, baby. I love you." He whined.

"I am not a baby! I am a woman!"

"Believe me, I know." He mumbled. Elizabeth turned red.

"Look, Ryan. I am very emotional right now so you should just go."

He was about to say something when Hannah waltzed into in the store (late again, obviously!). She stopped at the weird sight before her and raised an eyebrow. "Nice hair." She said then looked over at Elizabeth. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She said puffing out her chest. "Ryan was just leaving."

I rolled my eye at the sight. "And so was I." I announced. "Hannah you're in charge. Lizze's a little emotional right now so..._beware_."

Moving to the front of the counter I grabbed the light box full of Christian's flowers and smiled at Hannah. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Making a delivery." I said smiling. I was too giddy for my own good. "I'll be back later." It was sad that I practically skipped out of the shop. It was even sadder that I couldn't wait to get to there. _Oh boy…_

* * *

><p>I really liked Soho. I loved the cobblestone streets and the old fire escapes. I was a little nostalgic.<p>

Christian's building was… well old. The tiles on the floor were, dirty, cracked, or missing completely. I climbed the not so sturdy stairs to suite four.

_Christian's apartment._

A large metal sliding door was there to greet me. I wanted to simply slide it open and walk in but my manners told me to knock. So I did, and immediately heard tiny barks coming from the other side. I smiled.

"Shut up! Please, just stop with the yapping." He moaned just before he opened the door. The minute he saw me his smirk turned on. "That was fast. Miss me?"

I scowled at him. "I had some free time." I told him as I shoved his box of lilacs in his face. "That's fifty-five bucks." The little ugly puppy jumped around my ankles and barked madly. I bent down to pick her up and cuddle her against my chest.

"Awww hey darling! I missed you." I cooed to the puppy.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked as he left me by the door.

"Not really." I told him as I stepped into his apartment. Actually, it was a studio. And he was right, he was a painter. Literally, there were canvases everywhere. They covered the walls, making the place look like an art gallery. I slid the door closed behind me and placed the small hairless dog on the ground. She instantly scampered off to wherever Christian was. I took a step towards one wall covered with finished paintings and a fireplace. One of the paintings was of a girl with raven hair wearing a droopy tutu. She was curled asleep on a hardwood floor. I remembered her from the park.

When Christian appeared next to me I jumped a little. "You startled me."

"You're easy to startle."

I pointed to the painting. "I've seen that girl before. Her name is… Mel?"

"Mia." He corrected. "You've met her?"

"Yeah, in Central Park, she was with a little girl."

"Ava." He added. "She makes me want to rip out my hair, but at least she's cute."

I smiled. "How do you know them?"

"Mia lives here, and Ava is always around."

"Mia is the girl you live with?" That was so freaking weird to me.

"Used to be only on weekends now it's permanent." He rolled his eyes. "Now I'm not allowed to sleep in."

I looked back at the paintings. "Why is she sleeping on the floor in a tutu?"

"She dances a lot, sometimes too much. She was really tired after a performance and couldn't even make it to the couch."

"You're a very good artist."

He shrugged. "I do what I can."

I stared up at all the painting then remembered one of the reasons I was there. "You said you had something to show me."

He smirked. "I lied."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"I lied." He repeated.

I was annoyed but I could still feel a smile tugging at my lips. "Why would you lie?"

"To get you here."

"That's kind of creepy."

"Probably."

"Mostly." I corrected while chewing the inside of my cheek. "But, I guess that was kind of clever."

"Or maybe you're just not smart enough to intercept my lame attempts." He smiled.

"Attempts?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

He shrugged. "I'll get to them later."

"Do they require a bed?"

He hesitated. "No."

"You had to think about it."

"A bed would be a bonus."

I rolled my eyes. "I thought we had an agreement on the _not _sleeping together?"

He almost laughed. "You don't trust me."

"No." I answered truthfully.

"Any reason."

"Of course."

He waited a beat. It felt like forever. "Well, I'm telling the truth. I'm not trying to get you into bed."

I still didn't believe him. I just… couldn't. "Can I ask why that is?" I said turning to face him. He opened his mouth but I spoke before him. "I mean… Okay, this is going to sound really narcissistic, but I know what I look like."

He looked sideways at me. "Oh, the things you can accomplish with a mirror." He replied sarcastically.

My cheeks heated up. I was making a fool of myself but I couldn't stop. "No I meant I know what I look like to _men._"

He turned to face me, and folded his arms across his chest. He was amused. "Go on…" He urged.

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind."

"No, don't stop. I'm interested."

"Christian," I sighed. "I'm not very good with people, but I know what it means when a man gives me that _look. _And I've gotten that look _enough _times."

"And…"

"And… I don't really understand you, because you look at me like… _that_, but you don't want to sleep with me."

"And…" He said again.

"That's it."

He unfolded his arms. "No, that's not it. I can practically see it rolling around in your head. And I never said I didn't want to sleep with you. I just said I wasn't trying to get you into bed."

"That's the same thing."

He reached forward, took a painting right off the wall, and replaced it with another that rested against a few other paintings. "It's completely different. But you're right, you are something to look at, and I have very good eyesight."

"And…" I asked.

"And sure, my thoughts haven't been very innocent but hey, I'm only human." His mood had changed a little; he looked a little sad.

"But?"

"But I'm not trying to sleep with you." He paused a moment. "Hey, don't get me wrong I'm sure you'd be a great lover, but I'm not looking for one."

"Why's that?"

"Long story."

So Christian had a past…but well didn't everybody?

I shrugged. "People say that, but I bet you can sum it up in a sentence."

His eyes locked onto mine and held me still for a long moment. "I'd really like to draw you."

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes but smiled. "That wasn't the one sentence summery. But I'd like to draw you."

_Could it hurt? _I mentally sighed, _probably. _"Only if you tell me the long story."

"Fine."

I smirked. "Great."

Christian put me on the couch. He made me sit very still and wouldn't let me fix my messy hair. I watched him grab a sketchpad and a worn artist kit. He sat on the other couch with his long legs folded under him. The puppy, who was affectingly named _Bella_ hopped onto the couch and stared up at Christian with wide unblinking eyes. I tried not to laugh but failed as her tiny body quivered in excitement every time Christian glanced at her. The second he looked away her tail would stop beating and she calmed.

"She seems to have a crush on you." I said as he sharpened his charcoal.

"Most women do."

"Shows how much we know." I mumbled. "So, tell me the story."

"It's not that interesting."

"Someone else's sap stories are always interesting."

He shifted a little then sighed. "Girl I loved didn't love me back. It's happens to the best of us." He ended in a shrug. I knew better.

His eyes quickly flickered to my face then back down to his paper, his hands moved fast. I watched as Bella tried to slowly sneak closer to Christian on her belly. "That must have hurt."

"Got over it." He shrugged again. It was obvious that he hadn't.

My nose itched but I fought the urge to scratch. "What did you do?"

"Do?" He didn't look up.

"Why didn't she love you back? Did you do something stupid?"

He didn't say anything for a while. "Yeah, I did."

"What?" I pressed.

"Ana-"

_Soar spot. _"Sorry. I don't have a filter when I talk to people. It just comes out." I said quickly then added, "I don't have very good social skills...I guess"

A small smile warmed his lips. "You would never survive in the wild." I mirrored his smile. "What about you? Let's hear your sap story."

I felt that small punch of nerves. I thought about my father and that _mother_ of mine…"Not much to tell."

That was a lie.

He looked up at my face and held his gaze longer this time. "Where were you born?"

"Montesano."

He stopped. "Really?"

"Yeah," I told him.

"When did you leave?"

I bit my lip, hard. "When I was eighteen."

He continued drawing. "Why at eighteen?"

My hands balled into fists. "I…my father died in a car accident."

He stopped again and looked up. He noted my stiffness and frowned. "We don't have to talk about it."

I hated when people did that. It always made me feel stupid and overdramatic. "I'm fine."

There was a moment of silence.

"All right." His head went back down to concentrate on his drawings and we lapsed into silence again. "Let's talk about something different, like," He thought about it for a long time. "The universe."

My muscled loosened. "The universe?"

"Yeah, the universe. What are your personal views about the universe?"

I didn't have any. "Um… like aliens and stuff?"

He laughed and looked down at Bella who had successfully managed to prop her long snout up on his leg. "Yeah sure, _like_ _aliens and stuff_."

I licked my lips and thought about it. "Well, sure why not? The universe is a big place; it's kind of selfish to think we're the only ones."

He looked up. "Good point."

"What about you?"

He patted Bella's head and smiled. "Well, sometimes things like the universe keep me up all night in thought, but other times I feel like it's a waste of time. I'll never know the meaning of life, so why bother trying to find the answer." I didn't say anything. I simply listened. "Sometimes I think the universe is infinite and other times I don't. But it's hard to think like that."

I watched his hands work across the large pad on his lap. "It is?"

"It's impossible to think about something you don't know."

"How's that?"

"Our imagination is limited to our experiences and senses. Do you know what it feels like to have your hand chopped off?" He looked up to see me. "Imagine a color you've never seen?" _He had the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen_. I couldn't stop looking into his beautiful grey eyes. "What?"

"Close your eyes," He said and I did. "Imagine a color, one you've never seen in your entire life. One that can't be made with any of the other colors you know."

I tried, I really did, but I couldn't. "But it doesn't exist."

He chuckled. "Of course it does. I bet there are billions of colors we can't see. Do you know some insects like bees can see them?"

I felt like a kid in school learning something fascinating. "No, tell me."

He shrugged. "I saw this thing about bees on the discovery channel. Made me wonder what these other colors looked like."

My head was swarming with questions about colors and bees and the universe that I knew Christian couldn't answer.

I felt a little foolish. "I like you Christian, you're interesting."

He blinked and gave me a strange expression. "I'm just me."

We shared this awkward look for a long time. I couldn't look away. He had my mind swimming in bright colors.

But it ended quickly when my phone rang from somewhere deep in my purse. It took me forever to fish it out.

When I read the caller I.D. I almost threw the phone. _Ethan…_

I should have just ignored it, but I answered all while Christian's eyes were on me. "Hello?"

"Rose…" He said blankly. "Are you busy tonight?"

I sighed. _Yes… _"No…"

"Perfect. Wear a black dress with something red underneath. Nine sound good?"

"Perfect." I murmured. Then he hung up.

_Another five thousand in my pocket._

I threw my phone back into the abyss and gave Christian a smile. "I got to go. I left the shop in the hands of my emotional friend and…" I remembered the blue haired guy. "Oh, I met your friend."

"Ryan?" He asked.

"How did you know it was him?"

He smiled. "I don't have many friends."

_Same here. _"He wants to marry my friend." I said standing up and grabbing my bag.

"Elizabeth is your friend?"

"It's kind of strange that we know a lot of the same people. How do you know Elizabeth?"

"Ryan lives and breathes Elizabeth. Literally! But I didn't know she was the pink haired girl you were talking about."

"Well what can we say? It's a match made in heaven I guess."

"I don't know how he performs basic human functions without her."

"That's kind of _romantic_, don't you think."

He stood up and turned the drawing to face me. It was a quick outline of my face and hair. He'd started on one of the eyes but hadn't gotten very far. It was good. I wish I had some sort of talent. "I don't know. I'm not really a _hearts and flowers_ kinda guy." He admitted.

I looked at the drawing again, then at him. Bella jumped around his feet, eager to play. "I'm the same I guess. It looks good, sorry I have to leave before you can finish."

"You can't leave yet." He said.

"I can't?"

"I owe you fifty-five bucks, right?"

The flowers. "Oh right."

He dug his hands in his pockets and came up with a few bills from his- Prada- wallet. He handed them to me. It was sixty bucks. "Keep the change."

I pocketed the bills and smiled again at him. I slipped into my jacket and turned towards the door. I tried to think of something good to say. "Um… do you want me to come back… for the… drawing?"

"Sure." He smirked.

"When?" I asked almost desperately.

"Thanksgiving is next week." He said. "Are you busy?"

"No…"

"Mia going to make something. She's a lot better at cooking than me. You can come."

I'd never been invited to thanksgiving before. "Okay."

"Great…"

"Perfect…" In a weird attempt to say goodbye I held out my hand for a shake. He looked down and laughed. His hand engulfed mine and he shook. "Who knew two people could have some-what of a good time without being naked."

He laughed again, throaty and deep. "We should _not_ have sex more often."

"As long as we use protection."

"Safety first." He sighed.

"See you later, Christian." I said sliding open the door.

"Yeah, you will."

I guess, in a weird way, that's how Christian and I officially _didn't_ become lovers.

* * *

><p><em><strong>EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 5<strong>_

_"Will you do me a favor?" I asked spinning around to face him._

_He shot me a weird look. "Depends."_

_I bit my lip and felt a little giddy. "Will you kiss me?"_

_He looked confused. "Is that a trick question?"_

_**NEXT UPDATE: JANAURY 1**__**ST**__** 2015**_

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><p><strong>AN So I was thinking about updating this story twice a week. I'm really happy that so many of you loved this story and want me to update everyday! That's soooooo sweet of you all but frankly guys I can't update daily because well if I rush this story then it will lose it's element and it won't be that good. But I pinky swear (LOL!) I'll update this story two times a week. For sure!**

**Ana13**

**Guest**

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**Blueeyes57**

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**Eagles1091**

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**Pielietje**

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**Nataaaifcation**

**I can't thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I totally love reading them. They always make me smile and some of your reviews are like the cutest ever! (I can write a whole chapter on that LOL!) **

**Reviews are like encouragements for me to write more so if you people love this story and want me to continue then let me know! **

**REVIEW/ FAVE/ FOLLOW **

**Oh and I almost forget, so I got a review from ****Melz86**** for Chapter 3 **

"**I stopped reading at 'retarded'. I'm sure you could have written that chapter without that word."**

**Well firstly, that was never my intention, well I did apologized to the lady and once again I apologize to whoever and whomsoever felt that it was wrong of me to use that word. I really didn't mean to sound so insensitive about it. **

**Char x**


	5. Chapter 5: Is that a trick question?

_**A/N All the characters in the story belongs to Ms. James. I own nothing.**_

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 5- Is that a trick question?<strong>

_**Ana's Life Improvement Plan.**_

_**Get a tattoo. DONE**_

_**Flash someone. DONE**_

_**Crash a wedding.**_

_**Learn how to make smoke rings.**_

_**Watch the entire Lord of the Rings collection in one sitting.**_

_**Have sex in public.**_

_**Learn all the lyrics to "American Pie." DONE**_

_**Kiss someone in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel.**_

_**Chop off my hair.**_

I bit on the end of my pencil and tried to think of something to add to my list. It was a pretty lame bucket list. I thought about putting skydiving, or swimming with sharks down but why the hell would I want to do that? Fling myself out of a plane? No thank you very much.

Okay so chopping off my hair, not so original. But sometimes I just want to take the kitchen scissors and go wild. But what if I looked totally weird, or worse… like a boy? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. I almost erased it, but once it was on the list, it stayed on this list.

How pathetic. I'd only done three things. I got a tattoo, I flashed someone (GOD I'm still embarrassed thinking about that!) and learned all the lyrics to "American Pie". Of course, I couldn't see myself having sex in public. But how cool would that be!

_God I'm weird sometimes._

Sighing, I placed the list back on my fridge just as my phone rang.

I picked up the yellow phone mounted on the wall. "Hello?"

There was a long pause before anybody spoke. "Ana?"

I didn't recognize the voice. "Yeah, who is this?"

"Um…" It was a deep voice, very deep. Probably someone trying to sell something, I figured.

Rolling my eyes, I leaned my body against the door jam and waited. "Look, I don't want to buy anything, and I'd rather not hear about how God will enlighten my life, so…"

"It's Jose."

My grip on the phone tightened until the phone almost popped out of my hand.

Shocked I gasped into the phone "Ah…Are you all right?" _Stupid question. I mentally kicked myself._

"What?" He asked back. It didn't even sound like him. Well, I hadn't seen him or heard from him in like four years, so… I guess… whatever.

I shook my head and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. "I dropped you- the phone, never mind." My heart jack hammered in my chest. "Jose?"

I couldn't believe I was talking to him.

"Yeah?" He said quietly.

"Um… I… how are you?"

"Fine."

I pressed my forehead against the wall thinking about what to say next. "Good." I pressed my lips together. "Good."

"And are you…"

I was holding my breath. "Yes, I am."

There was this horribly unbearable silence. "I… don't know if you got my letter and I…"

"I got it."

"Oh."

_More silence. _"I don't think so if I'll be able to come."

"Oh." He paused. There was a moment of awkward silence. We both didn't know what to say.

"You sound so different." _Lame! I know_.

"It's been a long time...I guess fatherhood changed me a little."

"Yeah…so how's Susanne?" I glanced at the clock above the stove, I was getting late.

"She's great...you know...we're _okay_. You know...dad was asking about you the other day. We haven't seen you in like what...four years?"

"Yeah, it's been a really long time." I looked up at the clock again; I'm running out of time...

"What about Jonathon? How's he doing?"

He chuckled quietly, "He's going to turn four soon. He's a really energetic kid, I must say." I laughed a little.

I am _so_ getting late today.

"Jose, I have to go. You know…Thanksgiving dinner and all."

"Right, sorry. Happy Thanksgiving."

There was an awkward silence on both the ends.

I blew out a deep breath. "You didn't have to wait four years to call, Jose."

"I'm sorry, Ana."

There was a loud knock on the door, which practically caused me to leap out of my own skin. I pinched the bridge of my nose and cursed whoever had such bad timing. "Someone's at the door. I've got to go." I murmured and hung up.

I tightened my robe.

Who the hell was at my door? It's not like I had that many friends… So, when I pulled open the door and found Christian standing there with his hands in his pockets, I should have been surprised. I wasn't and frowned instead.

His eyebrow shot up. "Not the welcome I was expecting." He said.

I sighed. "Why are you here?"

"I thought you were coming for Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, I am." I looked down at my robe. "I'm not even dressed yet."

"You should probably hurry since I have a cab waiting outside."

Moaning, I left him standing by the door. "I hate it when people rush me." I hurried into my bedroom and closed the door.

"Sorry." I heard him call from the living room. "You're not going to take an hour, right?"

I rolled my eyes and flung open my closet door. "No…" I called back. _Dammit! _What the hell was I going to wear? Was a dress too much?

Yeah, it was. I grabbed a pair of old jeans off the ground and pulled them on. They had a hole in the knee but I didn't care. I pulled on a plain black t-shirt. Something _Simon Cowell _would be proud of. Then, I grabbed a pair of socks and left my bedroom.

Christian was leaning against the doorjamb in my living room when I came from the hallway. He looked over me slowly and smirked. "Nice jeans."

"Shut up. You rushed me."

"You look _fine_." He mumbled.

I sat on the edge of the couch and pulled on my socks. "No girl wants to be told that she looks _fine. _Get me that small cup of bobby pins." I said pointing to the shelf.

"Get you _what_?" He asked looking confused.

"Pins, they're small." I said pulling on the other sock. "They go in my hair."

He still looked perplexed so I got them myself. "You're not very useful." I said to him as I moved to the large mirror by the front door. I tied my hair into a large ponytail then pinned back my bangs.

"How come you never leave it down?" Christian asked while poking at the pins in the cup.

"My hair?" I asked he nodded. "Because it's a mess. I'm thinking about chopping it off. What do you think?"

He shrugged. "I'm not a hairdresser."

I sighed and grabbed my jacket. "Hand me a scarf. I didn't ask if you were a hairdresser I asked what you thought."

He looked at the rack with all my different colored scarves. "I don't know. I'm sure you'd look great. Which scarf?"

I pulled on my boots and shrugged. "I don't care, pick anything."

He reached up, grabbed a dark violet pashmina scarf, and handed it to me. "Matches your eyes."

"My eyes are blue." I told him stubbornly and wrapped the scarf around my neck.

"Sorry, wrong answer. Thanks for trying."

Groaning I pulled open the door."

He chuckled but let it slid. "Why do you want to chop off your hair?"

We walked down the stairs and out to the street where the cab was still waiting. "Because...I hate it. It's annoying and ugly. Short hair is easier." My arm bumped with his and I got a whiff of fish. "Down at the loading docks again?" I asked.

He opened the door for me. "Guilty." Christian told the driver where we were going then turned to me. "Is it bad?"

"Hmm?"

"The smell."

"No, don't worry about it." It was more of a salty sea kind of smell. "Why do you go down there?"

"I guess its kind of a part time job, but I only go when they need the help."

I angled myself towards him. "Why?"

"The money is good."

"I thought you were an artist."

"Can't pay off all the bills with paintings. Don't mention this to Mia."

"Why not?"

"She doesn't know. Her mom doesn't have much, so I'm helping her save up for college. She hates it when I help, so don't mention it."

I bit the inside of my cheek. That seemed so sweet and brotherly. "You two aren't related." It wasn't a question. "How do you know each other?"

His eyes roamed over my face instead of staying in one place. "When she was little she had cancer, so I donated some bone marrow. It worked."

No wonder she didn't like when he helped. He'd done enough. "That's extremely kind of you."

He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't take effort to donate bone marrow. It just hurts like hell."

"You saved her life. I guess that makes up for the pain."

He shrugged. "I didn't save her life. I just gave her a little boost."

More like a big boost. "I bet she's really grateful."

He laughed. "Oh yeah. She's a pain in the ass but she's good company."

It was obvious Christian didn't want any thanks or praise. I guess I admired him in that way. The rest of the ride was pretty much silent. It wasn't awkward, just silent. My mind wandered to Jose and his phone call. I shouldn't have hung up the way I did. It didn't look right.

"What's wrong?" Christian asked making me snap to attention.

I relaxed. "Nothing."

He frowned.

Before he could say anything I asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Not unless you count Mia. What about you?"

"Only child." I murmured.

The car pulled to the curb and Christian paid the driver absently. When he climbed out, he turned and held out his hand for me. I tried not to smile at the gesture. I hadn't gotten one in a long time. Maybe this would be fun. I hadn't had fun in a while. I guess it was about time.

As Christian checked on the turkey in the oven, I heard the front door slide open then close. The sound of quick footsteps grew louder until

Mia popped into the kitchen. She looked dazed and breathless.

"CHRISTIAN!, oh, hey Ana. Nice to see you again and _nice_ _jeans_!" She winked at me.

"Don't shout. It hurts my head." He mumbled and poked at the mashed potatoes.

"Look, I got in." She grinned and smoothed the paper between her small palms. "I got into Harvard. I got an early acceptance! Can you believe that?"

He glanced over at her. "It's about time, don't you think?" Mia looked confused as I watched her excitement deflate. "Now you don't have to tap dance on the hardwood. Is the turkey almost done, I'm starved."

I glanced from Christian to Mia. Her shoulders slumped and her smile faded. "What?" She asked quietly.

"The turkey? Is it done?" He said looking through the oven door. He added.

"Christian...I got into Harvard." She said again, hoping.

"I heard you." He replied while taking out three plates from the cupboard.

_Uh-oh..._

I saw the fury seep into her eyes. Her hands fisted and she glared at Christian. The next thing she did nearly had me ducking for cover.

She reached over, grabbed a random saucer, and whipped it at him. The plate missed Christian's head by a mere inch and shattered against the wall. I heard a gasp fly from my mouth and Christian covered his head.

"You're a real jerk, Christian." She growled and marched out of the kitchen.

Christian looked up, eyes wide. "What the fuck, Mia!" He hurried after her and almost managed to trip over his own legs. "Did you just throw a plate at me?"

I went after him. I needed to see this. They were inside a large closet that had been turned into Mia's bedroom. She was flinging open her drawers and throwing clothes around. "I'm leaving." She stated and pulled a suitcase from under her small bed.

Christian glared. "What are you talking about? What is your problem?"

"You're my damn problem." She rushed out the room and came back moments later with a toothbrush and toothpaste. "I'm staying with Sam, not that you care." She huffed and tried to zip up her suitcase.

Christian was furious. "Who the _fuck _is Sam?"

"A guy." She replied,

"_A guy? _You're not going anywhere!" He grabbed her arm but she pulled away.

"Actually I am. I'm eighteen Christian, you can't tell me what to do. You never could." Somehow, she managed to close her suitcase and wheel it out into the living room. "Come on Bella." She said to her puppy. The small dog leapt up into her arms. Christian was hot on her heels.

"Are you out of your mind? You can't just leave."

"Why do you care?" She shot back. "You never gave a shit about anything I did before."

"You're my fucking responsibility; you can't just throw a plate at me and walk out of here."

"Watch me." She dared.

He grabbed her arm again. "I'm just going to drag you back, and that's going to piss me off."

My eyes were wide with interest. It was like watching animals fight over scraps.

She narrowed her eyes until they were slits. "Fine, I'm going to stay with _Leila_."

He let go of her as if she just burned him.

"You know what?" He growled. "You're right. I don't care. Get the fuck out of here."

"Typical." She tried to laugh, but I could see she was close to tears. "I'll tell her _Leila_ said hi." He was already walking away. We watched him disappear into the kitchen then Mia turned to me. She looked sad. "Um...I'll catch you sometime later Ana... I'm sorry," She said quietly before leaving the apartment.

Wow, that was something. I quietly made my way to the kitchen where Christian was taking the turkey out of the oven. He glanced up at where I stood awkwardly by the doorway.

"Ah...um..." I started. "I'm going to go."

His head snapped up. "No."

"No?"

"No, sit down." His voice was sharp and angry.

"Christian, I-"

"Sit down." He ordered again. I did, slowly.

He practically slammed the bowl of mashed potatoes down in front of me, followed by a plate, then a fork. He remained silent as he spooned the potatoes onto my plate.

"Um... that's enough." I said putting my hand over his to stop him from going overboard. "Do you want to take a walk?"

He dropped the spoon and look at me. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>The air was cool, but in a good way, as twilight turned into evening. Christian and I walked silently down 5th Avenue while I tried to think of something to say. "I know all the words to "<em>American<em> _Pie_"." I said randomly.

Christian glanced down at me. "That song is like ten minutes long."

I smiled. "I know."

"And you know all the words? Not just the chorus."

I nodded. "Everyone on the planet knows the chorus, but I know _all _the words."

"Sing it."

I rolled my eyes. "No way!"

"Then I don't believe you."

"Whatever."

He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes with a weird smirk on his face. "Sorry about earlier. Generally we're nicer to each other."

"It's okay."

He didn't say anything for a minute. "She almost knocked me out."

I smiled. "That was pretty funny."

He chucked. "Yeah," He smiled. "It was."

I smiled up at him and he smiled down. "You know, she just wanted you to be excited for her."

He looked down. "Yeah... I'm a jerk. I know."

"You're not a jerk; you're just...a little slow. Are you going to let her go?"

He shrugged. "She's an adult she can do whatever she wants." He paused. "But I'll check up on her in a few days. And you're wrong, I am a jerk. It's in my genes."

"Were your parents' jerks?"

He raked a hand through his hair. "My mom was... still is. She's completely out of her mind."

At least she didn't _abandoned_ him. "Sounds like a blast."

"She drove me insane so I ditched her before I turned eighteen. I wonder if she knows where I am."

"She's your mother, I'm sure she's worried about you."

He laughed. "_Ella's_ not a mother. You have to have emotion to be a mother."

I frowned because I didn't really know what that meant. "What about your father? Was he human?"

He shrugged. "Carrick was. Were your parents human?"

I looked down at my feet then back up. "My father was, not sure about my mother though." I saw the question in his eyes and quickly changed the subject.

"Look where we are." I smiled.

He stopped next to me. I smiled up at The Plaza hotel. It was so gorgeous. "It's a hotel." He said. "What about it?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's not just a hotel." I sighed. "When I was little I wanted to live here."

"In a hotel?" He asked.

"Just like Eloise."

"Who is Eloise?"

"She was a girl who lived on the tippy top floor and had many adventures with her little dog."

Christian stared up at the building. "Really?!"

"Only in books. Come on." I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

The lobby was beautiful. I remembered my mother- before she abandoned my father and me- describing it to me. I stopped and looked up at the high ceiling and the expensive décor.

"What are _we_ doing in here?" Christian asked.

"Will you do me a favor?" I asked spinning around to face him.

He shot me a weird look. "Depends."

I bit my lip and felt a little giddy. "Will you kiss me?"

He looked confused. "Is that a trick question?"

"No, it's on my list of things to do before I die."

_"You have a list of things to do before you die?!"_

"Didn't I just say that?"

He looked around. "Why is that on the list?"

I smiled. "When I was little, probably six, my mom used to tell me this bedtime story about how she once came here on a field trip. She said the cutest boy in her class kissed her right here in the lobby of the Plaza hotel and that cute boy was my dad. I know this sounds really lame but...ever since that day I wanted to kiss someone here too."

He smirked. "Do I qualify as the cutest boy in class?"

"You'll pass."

He looked around again. "Right here? Are you sure you don't want to get a room first?"

I rolled my eyes. "_Ha ha_, we're still not sleeping together."

He nodded. "Got it, no sex."

"And just because I'm allowing us to kiss this one time doesn't mean it's going to happen again."

He sighed sarcastically. "Don't worry, I still have my imagination."

I tucked my hair behind my ears and tipped my head up. "And no tongue."

"You're so boring."

"Just kiss me." He started to lean forward but I put my hand on his chest. "Wait,"

"Come on, my lips are ready."

"Where are you putting your hands?"

He groaned. "You talk too much." I felt him grab a fistful of my hair and pull my head towards him. Our lips locked awkwardly at first but I soon felt his body relax against mine. His lips were moving slowly, then they got deeper. There was nothing gentle about his kiss. Everything was rough and hard. He smelt kind of like paint and… something else. I don't think it was fish, _thank God_. My hands gripped the front of his jacket making sure I wouldn't melt to the ground, and his knotted in my hair.

Even though I said no tongue, mine had a mind of his own and gently poked at the top of his lip. He pulled back. "You said no tongue."

My face was flushed and my mind was a little dazed. "I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Maybe my tongue got in the way."

"Sure…"

"Shut up. Besides it wasn't that great."

I saw the smirk appear on one corner of his mouth. "_I beg your pardon?"_

"I've had better."

"You have not."

"How the hell would you know?"

His smirk was full blown now. "You're still holding onto me."

I looked down at my hands that were still clamped onto Christian's black leather jacket. I let go immediately and took a step back.

"You know what I was thinking?" I said casually while repining my hair back and hoping to take my mind off that kiss.

"Unfortunately, no." He replied and stuck his hands in his pocket.

"I was thinking that I want _ice_ _cream_."

He looked at me as if I was the craziest person to ever live on the planet.

"It's almost winter." He pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing.

I started for the doors_. "Are you going to let a silly little thing like the weather keep you from frozen delights?"_

He thought about it for a moment then laughed. "You know, you are like the _weirdest_ girl I have ever met."

"Says the drunken mangled guy I found in a gutter." I looked at him and saw him smirking at me.

"What can I say? You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Yeah, I figured that much...when I let you crash on my _couch_ that night."

He laughed aloud. "Alright then. But you get to look after me if I fall ill." he jokingly said, probably still mocking me.

_That jerk_!

"Yeah, yeah Okay!" I muttered sarcastically but with a _stupid_ smile on my face.

"So where do you wanna go?"

"_COLDSTONE!"_

**_NEXT UPDATE 3RD JANUARY_**

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><p><strong>AN HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! **

**I hope this chapter was worth the wait. So Ana has finally starting to **_**like**_** Christian and I promise the next coming chapters are going to be so much FUN!( I'm getting excited just thinking about it.)**

**And I was thinking since I'm almost done with chapter 6 if you guys want a little peak then let me know...*wink, wink***

**Review me! And I'll PM you some juicy sneak peaks :) **

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_**You all just make my day! I love reading your reviews :) They are like the sweetest thing ever! So did you guys liked this chapter? Let me know ^_^**_

_**Once again A BIG HUG AND KISS to all those who FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED this story! **_

_**I LOVE YOU ALL. **_

_**Char x**_


	6. Chapter 6: Sorry I ruined your sex

_**A/N So this chapter was supposed to get uploaded yesterday but long story short FFN decided to go postal on me. **__Just my luck!_

_**Regarding my last update, all of you got an email update (those who had put this story on alert) that Chapter 5 has been posted. But many of you couldn't read it. And those who read it couldn't review it. Apparently, something was wrong with the site (as usual!). So I deleted the chapter and reposted it AGAIN! Sorry for the inconvenience guys, it was quite confusing (even for me!). **_

_**Another thing, my inbox is like literally overflowing with countless messages. So I apologize in advance if I don't reply you back. Trust me I try to reply to all of you but sometimes I could not. I thought about sending a sneak peak but then again I was able to send them to only a few of you. Once again thanks again to all the wonderful reviewers! Can't believe I have already crossed 160+ **__*****__Chapter 7 sneak peak in the end*_

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 6 : SORRY I RUINED YOUR SEX<strong>

I was watching with amazement as two colorful fish tried to beat each other up.

"I'd ask if you wanted any wine, but you never do." Ethan said from behind me.

I turned from the large fish tank and smiled. "No thanks. Tell me more about _your_ _fish_."

Really, I couldn't care less about Ethan's stupid fish. But of course, he loved to tell me all about them, and how much they cost. Apparently, the blue one was seven hundred.

_I know! _

Who the _fuck_ would pay that much for a freaking fish? Apparently Ethan does. Well, he also pays me five thousand per visit. Something tells me he's very good at wasting money. So, I listened while he droned on about his aquatic companions. They were literally the most important things in his life. The tank was bigger than my bathtub for _Christ's sake. _

"Why don't we move into the bedroom?" He finished while rubbing a hand over my back.

_Well, obviously. _

Why else would I be at his place in a ridiculously short body hugging dress?

We were stumbling into the bedroom with our lips fused together when my phone rang.

"I… um…" I said as Ethan's lips trailed down my throat. "My phone."

"Ignore it." He mumbled and unzipped the back of my dress. I grabbed my bag just as he pushed me down onto the bed.

"It might be important." I practically gasped when his hand slid up my thigh.

"I'm important right _now_." He replied in a husky voice while he pulled down the straps of my dress. I rolled my eyes and managed to find my phone. I didn't recognize the phone number and sighed.

"Hello?" I asked. I tried not to notice when Ethan pulled my dress down over my hips.

"Hey Ana, got a minute?" It was Christian… How the hell did he get my number?

"Who gave you my number?" I almost moaned since Ethan was trailing kisses up my stomach.

"Ryan got it from Elizabeth who got it from you." He said. "Are you busy?"

_"Sort of._

"Well…I'm _sort of_ outside your house."

I sat up. "Huh?" Ethan's mouth came back to mine.

_Too much tongue, _I nearly gagged.

"Yeah, well you see…" Christian said awkwardly. "I was bored, since Mia isn't around to entertain me."

I blinked and pushed Ethan's mouth away. "Um… I'm in the middle of something, Christian."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I should have called before, stupid."

I thought about Christian standing in the cold outside my building. His hands stuffed into his pockets and his back slightly hunched from the cold.

Why is it that men never wear anything warm enough to withstand the winter? Stupid, if you ask me.

"Okay, I'm on my way." I sighed.

Ethan stopped and looked up. "What?!"

"Who was that?!" Christian asked.

I pushed away and grabbed my dress from the floor. "Nobody."

"Where do you think you're going?" Ethan grabbed my ankle and pulled my entire body under him while he continued to, well, basically…_feast upon my skin._

"Are you with someone?" I heard Christian's voice only barely since Ethan was moaning…

I pushed the hair out of my face and tried to wiggle away. "No, I'm completely alone." Ethan managed to take his shirt off and was currently nibbling on my shoulder. He moved slowly up my neck to my ear. I jolted when he bit down on my earlobe.

"_Ow, ow, ow! _No biting!" I shouted.

"What?" Christian was completely confused. Why the hell was I still on the phone with him? I honestly don't know.

"Are you having sex?"

"Just foreplay." I mumbled and rubbed my soar ear. I stopped when I realized my earring was missing. I sat up straight. "Where's my…" I looked at Ethan who was coughing with wide eyes.

"Did you just- _Oh my God!" _I threw the phone down and moved over to Ethan who looked like he just ate something really disgusting. "Please tell me you didn't just swallow my _favorite_ white gold stud."

He wiped his mouth. "Do you think I need to get my stomach pumped?"

I rubbed a hand over my face as my shoulder slumped. "That was a gift from my father. I knew I shouldn't have worn them! He always said I was supposed to wait until I got married! _Dammit!"_

Ethan shrugged. "It's alright babe, I'll buy you a new pair."

_No, you stupid moron. _"No…It's fine. I got to go."

"But we just got started." He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

I put a hand on his chest. "No really, I got to go. Look," I placed my other hand on his cheek while I tried to think of an excellent deal. "Next one is on me, all right? And maybe I'll stay all night."

He was considering it. "Doesn't matter. I've got you now." He squeezed my arm, just a little too hard. I winced.

"Ethan," I warned. "My sister is in the hospital, she's...having a baby." Lie. "I need to go. I promised I'll stay all night and I'll even do that…thing… you wanted me to do." I mentally recoiled.

His eyes lit up as if were a child in a toy store. "Really?"

_No, not really… Gross… _"Yeah, totally."

"Okay, great." He let go and I reached for my dress. He got up and went to the door connecting his master bedroom with the bathroom.

"Close the door on your way out." He said absently with a little wave then left the room. At least he didn't care enough to get mad. I guess that was the _only_ good thing with Ethan.

No emotions. I liked that.

I sat practically naked on his bed with my hair completely ruined. Somehow, I managed to get myself back into my skintight dress. I was reaching for my shoe when I saw my phone lying open on the tangled sheets. I quickly grabbed it and pressed it to my ear. "Christian?"

"He swallowed what?" He asked amazed.

I groaned and fell back against the pillows. "How much did you hear?"

"More than enough."

I groaned again. "I should have hung up."

"Too bad." He replied dryly.

"Are you still outside my place?"

"Yeah. I brought ice cream." He added.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." I hung up and threw my phone into my bag. Tonight was definitely not my night.

* * *

><p>Christian was sitting on the stoop of my apartment building smoking a cigarette when I pulled up in a cab. He had a tub of ice cream just like he said. I smiled at him when I walked up but he didn't smile back.<p>

"Sorry I interrupted." He said easily.

"Don't worry about it." I mumbled with embarrassment and unlocked the door. Christian followed me upstairs and into my apartment, and then went straight to my fridge to put away the ice cream.

"What kind did you get?" I asked from the living room as I kicked off my shoes.

"Vanilla." He called back. "I forgot what kind you liked."

"Mocha Chocha Deluxe." I said remembering when we had ice cream in the cold.

Christian had mint chocolate chip, which I thought was girly. I made sure to let him know.

I dumped my bag and coat on the couch then went to join him. He was leaning against the counter and looking up at my cat clock. It's tail and eyes swished back and forth hypnotically. He looked down at met my eyes. "You're bleeding." He said pointing to my face.

Shocked I wiped a hand over my nose. "Huh! What? Where?"

"Your ear." Christian said pushing my hair off my shoulder.

I reached up and touched my finger to the blood.

"Ugh..._Great_, can you run that tea towel under warm water?" Christian did but instead of handing me the towel, he pressed it gently to my ear. His other hand against my cheek, holding me. I felt a little shiver run up my spine.

"Thanks." I said quietly.

"He's a little rough, don't you think?" Christian said without emotion.

I fought back a shiver when he slowly wiped the blood off my neck. "No," I half laughed.

_Well maybe sometimes._

"It was just an accident. He swallowed my earring." I waited for him to smile or smirk or show any sort of emotion, but he didn't.

"What's wrong? Do you know if Mia is okay?"

He nodded. "She called about five minutes ago to tell me she's staying with a friend. Friend meaning some guy named '_Sam'_."

"That was nice of her."

"She just did it so I'd stop calling her every ten minutes."

"Then why are you so blue?"

He handed me the towel and sat down at the small kitten table by the window. "I'm just tired. So is this guy your boyfriend?" He completely changed his tone.

I opened the freezer and took out the ice cream. "No."

"But you have sex with him?"

I put the ice cream on the table along with two spoons and looked him in the eye. "Yes."

"One night stand?"

"What's with the _questions_?"

"What's with the _dress_?"

I looked down at my tight black dress with the ridiculously low neckline. If my boobs were pushed up any higher, they'd be smacking me in the head.

"Christian, it's just a dress." He simply shrugged his shoulders and opened the ice cream tub. I watched him take a spoonful and put it in his mouth.

"Would you be more comfortable if I changed into something...frumpier?"

He shrugged again. "Doesn't _really_ matter to me."

"Good, because maybe I _like _this dress." I totally didn't. It was ridiculous.

"Great."

"Perfect." I opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of maple syrup. I placed it on the table and sat down opposite of him. "And you're not allowed to judge me." I snapped.

"What's that for?" He asked eyeing the syrup. "And who says I'm judging you?"

"It's for the ice cream, gives it flavor. And you are judging me; you think I look like a slut."

_Which is exactly what I am._

He popped open the cap and drizzled the maple goodness onto the vanilla. "I never said you looked like a slut."

"You're thinking it!" I said grabbing my own spoon.

"You have absolutely no idea what I'm thinking." He tried some of the new and improved ice cream. "And you're right this is good."

Feeling a little defeated and stupid I spooned some for myself. "I know I'm right."

We were silent while we simply took our turn eating from the tub.

"I'm sorry I thought you looked like a slut." He said quietly.

I blew my messy bangs out of my eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Good, we're even. How was your day?" He asked licking all the ice cream off his spoon.

"Fine. You?"

"Fine."

I twirled the spoon between my fingers as I bit down hard on my lip. I was ready to explode at him.

"Okay, look." I started and jumped up. "It's just sex! Okay? Haven't you ever just had sex with someone who also wanted to just have sex?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Okay, then you know what I mean."

"I do."

"Good." I sat back down and tucked my hair behind my ears.

_Awkward silence. _Well on my part. Christian was still _quietly_ eating ice cream from the tub.

"Tired?" I asked him in my lame attempt to start a conversation.

"Yes."

"Do you like the ice cream?"

"Yes."

"Are you _ignoring _me?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you angry with me?"

"No."

"Are you going to speak in monosyllables now?"

"Yes."

"Look, what Ethan and I have is just sex. We just have a 'friends with benefits' kind of relationship. _No strings attached_. Okay? That's all. The guy doesn't even know my _real_ name to begin with."

There was some more silence then Christian smirked. "Sex in public?" He asked.

"Huh? What?"

"It's on your '_life improvement list'._" He pointed to the piece of paper on the freezer door.

I blushed. "So what?" _Now I was mentally kicking my ass for posting my list on the refrigerator._

"Are you some kind of sex fiend?" His smirked grew wider.

"I am not!"

"I noticed there was a check mark next to '_Flash someone'. _Care to elaborate?"

I folded my arms. "Certainly not."

He laughed now. It was deep and throaty and I really liked it. At least he was talking again.

_Oh God! _Was I some sort of sex fiend! I really hoped not. Those people scare the crap out of me. "You're something Ana. I can teach you how to make smoke rings if you want."

My head snapped up so my eyes could meet his. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah sure. Ever smoked?"

"No."

He rolled his eyes. "Then prepare to take a few years off your life."

So smoking was really gross. But I really wanted to make a cute little smoke ring. Christian made a huge one that floated up but disappeared before it hit the ceiling. As Christian taught me the right way of making smoke rings, I made coffee. "You've got to open your mouth a little more." He said but I only managed to blow a cloud of smoke in his face. Making him laugh aloud.

I had the rest of Christian's cigarette in my hand while he enjoyed his hot coffee. "My mouth tastes like tar."

"Delicious, isn't it?"

"Are my teeth going to turn yellow?" I asked running my tongue over them.

"Are mine?" He asked grinning.

"You're fine."

"Then you'll be fine." I took another deep breath of smoke and started coughing like mad. "You should probably stop, you're making me nervous." He said reaching for the cigarette.

I pulled it back. "No! I'm going to do it!" I sucked in again and this time I tried my very hardest. Then, just as I thought, it was over, a small wobbly circle popped right out of my mouth jiggled upward.

_"Oh my fucking God!" _I screamed.

"I did it! Look Christian! I DID IT! Can you believe it?" I pointed at it as I screamed enthusiastically.

Christian simply smiled and took the cigarette from me. "You're getting closer to improving your life."

I leapt from my chair and placed a check on my list. "I'm _officially_ the coolest person ever." I sang to myself.

"Hey, I helped." Christian added.

I rolled my eyes. "I would have learned. What do you think _YouTube _is for?" I grinned madly at him while he sat with his coffee and cigarettes.

He looked really cute. Then it hit me. "This totally reminds me of a song." I ran out of the room and looking for my iPod.

"What reminds you of a song?" He asked as I came back in with my iPod Touch in one hand and iHome in another.

I plugged in the iPod.

"Just listen." I said and pressed play.

The soft jazzy sounds of _Otis Redding _wafted through the air just like the smoke from Christian's cigarette.

"_It's early in the morning_

_About a quarter to three_

_I'm just sittin' here, talkin' with my baby,_

_Over cigarettes and coffee."_

I swayed slowly to the music. "I love this song." I really did. It made me think of a really hot sticky summer's night. I turned slowly and caught Christian's eyes on me. I really liked the way they slowly moved over my face. He had this weird way of staying perfectly still but only moving his eyes. Reminded me of a chameleon. I smiled.

"_But it seems so natural, darlin'_

_That you and I are here,_

_Just talking over cigarettes,_

_And drinking coffee"_

I was a little surprised when Christian stood up walked over to where I was slowly dancing. He took my hands and pulled me towards him. Gently, he rocked back and forth with me until we started moving in a circle.

"I think they played this at prom." He said looking down at me.

My breath had gotten lost somewhere in my throat. "Who'd you go to prom with?" I imagine, if I'd gone to prom, this is what it would have felt like.

_Scary and exciting._

"Gia Matteo." He said lifting my arm so I could take a small spin. "She had these really big breasts. Like _really really_ big. "

I laughed. "Was that the only reason you asked her?"

"She asked me. I didn't even want to go."

"But you agreed to go with her?"

"Like I said, she had _really_ big breasts."

I rolled my eyes. "You are such a guy."

"We're such visual creatures. Who'd you go to prom with?"

Frowning, I sighed. "I didn't go to prom."

"Why not? You seem like a prom kind of girl."

I shrugged. "No one asked me. And I'm sorry to say my breasts aren't nearly as fabulous as Gia Mateo's."

"They look pretty good to me."

I spun again. "Are you looking at my breasts?"

"Only for the past hour."

_Wow, _I was impressed. "You're very subtle."

He nodded. "I've been perfecting the technique for years."

We both laughed. It was only then I realized the first song had finished and we were on a second one now, but we were still dancing.

_You make it look like it's magic_

_Cause I see nobody, nobody but you, you, you_

_I'm never confused_

_Hey, hey_

_I'm so used to being used_

He was looking down at me with those amazing _grey_ eyes, his hands at my waist (well actually my hips).

He was _so_ close. _Really_ close...

_So I love when you call unexpected_

_So I'ma care for you, you, you, yeah_

_Cause girl you're perfect_

_You're always worth it_

_And you deserve it_

_The way you work it_

_Cause girl you earned it_

_Girl you earned it_

My hands gripped his shoulders and my head started to move forward. Was I really leaning in for a kiss?

_I had said no kissing!_

But there I was, leaning in, slowly. My eyes fluttered and then... the fire alarm went off.

_Yup. _The fire alarm.

It rang loudly through my apartment. I looked up and noticed all the smoke clogging the air. I forgot to open a window, _FUCK_.

We jumped apart and I covered my ears. _"Shit!"_

Christian grabbed a chair and placed it below the blaring alarm. He climbed onto it and calmly pressed the button. The sound stopped. "Open a window." He said, I did. Grabbing a cookie sheet from a cupboard, I fanned it through the air to get the smoke out. There was so much. You'd think I would have noticed.

"Ana?" Christian asked.

I turned quickly and gracefully managed to smack Christian in the face with the cookie sheet.

_I was officially a mess. _I mentally cursed myself.

"Oh! I'm _so _sorry." I said as he bent over in pain and held a hand to his face.

"Jesus Christ, Ana. Hey, I know I'm a jerk but don't beat me to death."

"_Sorry, sorry, sorry. _I'm a total moron. Let me see."

Christian stepped back and blinked rapidly. "I'm okay, really." He looked okay. "I'm just a little blind." I chewed my lip. When he straightened, he somehow managed to smile. "I'm going to go."

_Oh God, _I was chasing away really good-looking guys now. I was totally hopeless.

"Oh, really?" I managed.

He nodded and grabbed his pack of cigarettes off the table. "Yeah, I have to wake up early and stuff. Sorry I ruined your… sex."

I made an awkward face. "Um… it's okay."

"Well…" he leaned forward to kiss my cheek. " Goodbye, Ana."

I blinked. "Goodbye."

I was still standing in the same spot when I heard the door shut after him. A second later, the alarm went off again and caused me to drop the cookie sheet to the floor with a loud clatter.

* * *

><p><span><strong>NEXT UPDATE – 6<strong>**TH**** JANUARY**

_**SNEAK PEAK FROM CHAPTER 7**_

_"What are you doing?"_

_As I adjusted my dress, I closed my eyes. "Shh, I'm listening to the waves."_

_I heard Christian lie down next to me and felt his shoulder brush against mine. "I don't hear them." He said. "Mostly since they don't exist."_

_I scowled at him. "For an artist you don't have a very imaginative imagination."_

_"Say that again."_

_"What?"_

_"Imaginative imagination."_

_"Imaginative imagination?"_

_"Yeah, say it again."_

_"Why?"_

_"I like the way you say it."_

_I cracked open my eyes and saw that he too had his eyes closed. "Imaginative imagination."_

_"You say it differently."_

_I opened both my eyes. "No I don't."_

_"Yeah, you do." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Say it again."_

_"Imaginative imagination."_

_"There!" He said sitting up. "You connect both words in a weird way."_

_I sat up and touched my lips. "I… no I don't."_

_He let out a funny huff, then went down on his back again and closed his eyes. His hands rested on his stomach._

_"Well, anyway what were we talking about?"_

* * *

><p><em><strong>A VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: <strong>_

_Since I won't be able to PM all of you I thought about clearing up some questions that I got. The story is still in it's beginning so the coming chapters will highlight many important phases of both A&C's past. Well yes, there is no Grace in this story because for what I have in mind, I wanted CG's mother to be a negative character and frankly, my heart can't bear it if Grace becomes OH SO EVIL! So yeah in this story, Carrick and Ella are Christian's parents. There will be just a teeny tiny bit of drama too towards the ending of this story (but not too much I promise) but well what good story is without a little drama?_

_Just so you all know Ethan is a side character but will be making recurring appearances (not too much though!). His character would add to the drama. Someone reviewed me asking how long this story will be? Well I'm aiming for something 20ish...23, 24? Still not sure...And yes Leila and Christian had a past, more will be disclosed in the coming chapters. _

_Another thing, in the next few chapters Christian would be helping Ana in completing her "Life Improvement List" and by completing...I mean ALL the things in the list...*SEX_ IN PUBLIC TOO...?!*

_And last but not the least I got many PMs asking whether Elena would be in this story or not. Well this is entirely up to you guys. So what do you think? Should I have Elena or not? Let me know x_

_**Believe it or not THE FIRE ALARM INCIDENT in this chapter actually happened with me once and yeah I actually smacked my boyfriend with a cookie sheet ***__**sighs**__***. That resulted in an ER trip due to nose bleeding (and oh boy! wasn't that fun).**_

_**Edenmay**_

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_**YOU GUYS ROCK! So what do you think of this chapter? Penny for your thoughts? :)**_

_**BTW CAN ANYONE OF YOU GUESS THE SECOND SONG PLAYED IN THIS CHAPTER...?**_

_**Thank you once again for all the wonderful reviews and all those who favorited and followed this story. Means a lot to me :) Until next update...**_

_**Char x**_


	7. Chapter 7: Complicated Compliment

**A/N ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO E L JAMES. AND I'M JUST BORROWING THEM.**

_The second played in the last chapter was __EARNED IT__ by THE WEEKND. It's from Fifty Shades of Grey OST. Most of you knew it! _

_And another thing, by popular demand this story is now __OFFICIALLY ELENA FREE__!_

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 7 : COMPLICATED COMPLIMENT<strong>

"And then the waiter said _'Blueberries? I thought you said strawberries!'"_

Everyone roared with laughter. I on the other hand was left blinking like a loon and struggling not to groan. Ethan nudged me when he noticed my lack of enthusiasm. I immediately grinned and made a little giggling sound. Oh God, why did I agree to this? Oh that's right, because I _owe _Mr_. I-like-to-pay-for-my-women_, since I left him to be with Christian.

_Well, come on who wouldn't?_

I wished a waiter would come along with a tray of blueberries and bitch slap Ethan with them right now. At that thought, I actually started to laugh.

"Enjoying yourself?" He whispered in my ear as people dispersed back into the uppity rich people party. I smiled and nodded as he placed his hand on my lower back and guided me through the crowd. Everyone was laughing with their noses in the air as the sucked on their fancy champagne and told each other about their completely meaningless lives. I sighed and allowed Ethan to introduce me to an old couple- _and oh my_- the old lady (probably in her fifties) was laden with _diamonds and diamonds and more diamonds_. They sparkled under the lightings and I had the weird urge to cover my eyes. Diamond necklace, _huge_ diamond earrings, diamond bracelets, and diamond rings (three in each hand!)

She looked like a _walking Jewelry shop_.

"Oh!" A loud voice said from behind. Ethan and I both turned to find an extremely beautiful woman with dark caramel skin and wide curious eyes. "Ethan…" She smiled and leaned forward to give him two air kisses. "You haven't called me." She fake pouted.

"Well, I've been busy." He said easily.

The woman's eyes flashed to mine. "But not too busy." She laughed. "I'm Viola." I accepted her air kisses and was about to introduce myself when Ethan did it himself.

"This is Rose." He placed his hand on the back of my neck; it was smooth, too smooth. _Christian's_ were rough, even for a painter. I cursed myself for thinking about him, _again_. Just as I was about to speak Ethan began rambling on with the woman about crap I really didn't care about. When a man came out of nowhere and stole Ethan away, I was relieved to be myself.

The woman, Viola, even looked a little relieved herself. "God I hate him…" She mumbled and grabbed champagne from a waiter's tray. "How can you stand his ego?"

A wide smile spread across my lips. "I can't." I laughed.

She looked at me through her long lashes. "Ha, I was in your position about three years ago. How much does he pay you?" The heart in my chest did a little summersault. When she saw my expression, she laughed. "Oh darling, you didn't really think you were the only one?"

"I…"

"I'd bet all the money I have your name isn't even Rose." She said absently as she straightened out her gold sequenced gown. When I didn't say and thing she leaned forward. "My name isn't Viola. It's Natalia."

When she straightened and stretched out her hand for a shake, I smiled a little. "Ana." I said slipping my hand into hers.

"He's great in bed." She said looking over at him. "But horrible out of it."

"He swallowed my earring." I told her and watched her try to hold hysteria.

"Oh wow. You know those little bowls of warm water with lemons that they give you at restaurants to wash your hands?" Natalia asked. I nodded. "Well, he drank it once and then complained that it tasted _awful_." We both stood there laughing I envisioned him doing something like that. It was completely hilarious.

A few people looked over curiously but I didn't care. "Are you here…"

"With someone? Yes." She said nodding towards a man standing with a group of women. "He pays a thousand an hour."

I frowned a little. "Do you enjoy it?"

She tipped her head to the side. "It's just _sex_, you know. I do have a _real_ job and live a pretty normal life. I figured if men want to sleep with me then they could at least pay for it." She placed her empty glass on another waiter's trey. "Besides, we're not going to look like _this_ forever. Might as well get something out of it while we can, right?"

It made sense, but I just didn't feel right. "Sure."

"You're new at this, aren't you?"

"Fairly new."

"Look, it gets easier and easier until it's nothing but a business transaction, see you later darling." I watched as she disappeared back into the crowed. It was very hard to decide if I liked her or not. Would that be me soon? I cringed a little.

I hope not. I mean sex with Ethan is pretty good. But like she said _"He's great in bed. But horrible out of it."_

When Ethan came up behind me and nuzzled the back of my neck, I nearly jolted. "Why don't we get out of here?"

He purred.

I turned to face him. "I'm not feeling very well." I said, not lying at all. My stomach was twisting and turning as if I were anxious about something. "Can we do _this_ another night?"

He didn't look too pleased. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

His eyes went dark. "Fine." He growled and quickly turned to march off.

I was left standing there rolling my eyes at him. He was such a _baby_ sometimes. I hurried to the coat check to spring my jacket and flee before I had to endure another pointless conversation. Outside was cold as usual for an autumn's night. I bundled myself in my warn pea coat and picked up the bottom of my evening gown. The dark blue material shimmered in the bad New York lighting. If I were ten years younger, I would have thought the dress was the most beautiful thing in the world, now at _twenty_-four I thought it was a sign for men to pointing out how cheap I felt.

The direction I lived in was the opposite way I was walking. I tried to think of another reason I'd be walking towards Christian's studio besides the obvious. Nothing else sprang to mind. He was probably asleep, I told myself.

If the light isn't on I'll just go home.

The light was on, when I arrived five minutes later. It really was unfortunate that the venue was so close to his place.

I leant against the lamppost while I tried to talk myself out of going up. I hadn't seen or spoken to him since I _almost _kissed him then literally killed him with a cookie sheet. Maybe he didn't want to see me? Maybe he realized how much of a klutz I was, and decided it best to stay away.

When I looked up at his window, again I saw Christian walk by one of the large arches. My heart began to hammer and I quickly attempted to hide behind the lamppost. There was no way I was skinnier then that thing. I held my breath for about twenty seconds or until my lungs screamed for air. When I looked over my shoulder Christian was looking out at me across the street as a crazy serial killer would in a movie. I automatically felt dizzy. I couldn't believe I just got caught stalking.

_Great job, Ana. Really great._

He waved. I nearly started to cry. How stupid could I be? Blushing, I waved back. I couldn't really see him clearly, since the light was behind him, but I imagined he had on one of those damn smirks he wore so well. He motioned me to come upstairs and I let out a sigh.

With a little whimper, I crossed the street and entered his building.

The door was open when I got there. I slid it open all the way without knocking. Christian was standing by one of his yellow leather couches, a paintbrush in his hand. He was wearing dark worn out jeans covered in paint, and his black wife beater had seen better days. I mentally kicked myself for enjoying the view. "Stalking doesn't suit you, Ana." He definitely was smirking.

I rolled my eyes and ignored the horde of butterflies in my stomach. "I'm not stalking you. I was walking by and contemplating whether or not I should stop by and say hello."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he stepped towards me slowly. When he was a few feet away he leaned in and sniffed. "You smell like an old desperate woman." I almost smiled since I was wearing the perfume Ethan had given to me. I only wore it when I was around him.

"It's French." I said.

His eyes narrowed a little and he reached forward to pop open on of my coat buttons. There were only three to undo, and he managed pretty quickly. He opened my coat as if he were searching for something. One eyebrow rose slowly. "Ah," He said then let the other rise. "Hot date?"

"Fake date." I answered and tugged my coat from his grasp. "Why are you covered in paint?"

"I was painting." He answered.

I let out a small chuckle. "You know what I mean."

"You want to see?"

I nodded and followed him to the small closet Mia had once occupied. I stood in the doorway as he entered the dark room and flicked on the light. I nearly chocked on my own breath. Christian had painted her room. Well, painted is a mild term. He completely pimped it out. Christian had actually managed to create a sunny tropical scenery on all four of the small walls. There were palm trees, white sand and clear green waves. It was like...actually being on a beach.

Wha…" I murmured in completely shock. "You did _not _paint all this."

"The artistically talented elves did it while I slept."

I took a step inside but Christian stopped me. "You're going to get paint on your pretty dress."

Shrugging out of my coat, I threw it behind me. "I don't care." I said and moved inside the room. "Oh my God, Christian! This is _seriously_ amazing. Could you come to my place and do this in my bedroom?"

"Do I owe you a huge apology?" I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. "No, I don't."

"She'll love this."

"Yeah?"

"How could she not? Is that a crab?" I said bending down to inspect the tiny pink crab nestled in the sand. "This is… I'm speechless."

He shrugged. "It's easy to be creative when you have no life."

"You know you could have just bought her an _I'm-sorry-I'm such-an-asshole_ card from Hallmark."

"Yeah… well she said she wants to go to Hawaii to learn how to surf and meet hot Hawaiian men, so I figured this was the next best thing."

I smiled again. "You really love her, don't you?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "She's all right."

I laughed. "No, you really love her. I think it's great."

"Don't go mushy on me."

It was fun to see Christian this way. "Aw, I bet she'll cry when she sees this."

"Don't be mean." He narrowed his eyes at me.

"And she'll give you a great big hug."

"I'm about to lock you in this room."

"Can you paint me a hunky Hawaiian before you do?"

He chuckled. "You want a beer?"

"Yeah sure."

When Christian left the butterflies started up again. What was I doing there? It was a horrible idea. Okay yes, I liked him but me in relationships equals complete disaster. Jeez, what was I thinking! He didn't even want to be in a relationship, right?

When he came back, I took the beer from him and had a long swig. Just thinking had made my mouth dry up.

Hating the silence, I bent down and moved a paint can out of my way so I could stretch out on my back. Christian leaned over me. "What are you doing?"

As I adjusted my dress, I closed my eyes. "Shh, I'm listening to the waves."

I heard Christian lie down next to me and felt his shoulder brush against mine. "I don't hear them." He said. "Mostly since they don't exist."

I scowled at him. "For an artist you don't have a very _imaginative imagination_."

"Say that again."

"What?"

"Imaginative imagination."

"Imaginative imagination?"

"Yeah, say it again."

"Why?"

"I like the way you say it."

I cracked open my eyes and saw that he too had his eyes closed. "_Imaginative imagination."_

"You say it differently."

I opened both my eyes. "No I don't."

"Yeah, you do." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Say it again."

"Imaginative imagination."

"There!" He said sitting up. "You connect both words in a weird way."

I sat up and touched my lips. "I… no I don't."

He let out a funny huff, then went down on his back again and closed his eyes. His hands rested on his stomach.

"Well, anyway what were we talking about?"

_What? _"No wait!" I said annoyed. "What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with the way I say imaginative imagination."

His only reply was to laugh. I hit his shoulder and glared. "Fine, you say it."

"Imaginative imagination."

"You say it the same way I say it." I said and crossed my arms.

"Try it."

"Imaginative imagination." I tried my hardest to say it exactly the same way Christian had, but he only laughed again.

I pinched his arm. He jolted. "Ow."

"Are you just being mean?"

"Look, it's probably because your mouth is a little too wide."

My eyes widened. "_Excuse_ _me_?!" What on earth was he talking about? There was nothing wrong with my mouth.

"My mouth is… _great_."

He smirked. "Yeah, it is. But your lips are still wider than most."

I was fuming. "How the hell would you know what the right size is for lips?"

"There isn't just one size…" He said as if I were ignorant on the matter, which apparently I was. "It depends on the face. Your lips are just too wide for your face. And I know this because I draw and paint people often. I notice these things. Look," He measured his lips with his fingers then touched his fingers to my own lips, showing me how much larger mine were. "I never said it was a bad thing. It isn't most of the time. Yours are _perfect_." His fingers stayed at my lips for a moment too long. Then he dropped his hand and closed his eyes again.

I just sat there for a moment. "That was the most _complicated compliment_ I've ever gotten."

"Say complicated compliment one more time."

I only groaned which made him laugh. When I resumed the position on my back, I had a smile on my oversized lips. I touched them again. "Christian, you're the single most interesting person I've ever met. Even more interesting than Elizabeth is. And she's _really _interesting. I mean, she has pink hair. And do you know she buys hand made soap from the East Village."

"Wow, I'm surprised I beat her." He commented.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me as many as you like."

"Would you ever pay a woman to sleep with you?"

He didn't say anything and I was afraid to open my eyes. "Random." He said eventually.

I let out a whoosh of breath. "I saw these two prostitutes on the corner as I walking here." I lied. "So, would you do that? Buy them, I mean."

"No." He answered.

"Why not?"

"No isn't good enough of an answer?"

I kept my eyes closed. "I'm curious." Actually, I was more curious of what kind of woman would allow herself to be bought, but I knew the answer.

"It just wouldn't feel right." He said after a moment. "Kind of like socks and sandals." I smiled a big smile. "You know, once this prostitute cornered me. _Scared me shitless_." I opened my eyes and moved onto my side. Christian did the same so we were facing each other.

"What happened?" I asked completely interested.

"She kept asking me if I wanted a _date_." He said amused. "I really didn't want a date, but she wouldn't take no for an answer."

"What did you do?"

"After being molested I gave her a twenty to leave me alone. Then I booked it out of there."

When I started to laugh Christian joined in. I liked his laugh. I liked the way he was laying on the ground with me. I liked the way he touched my lips. I liked the way he was looking at me. I liked the way we could talk about nothing. His eyes were a beautiful shade of grey color, something I hadn't actually seen before.

He had one of those faces you would never forget, not matter what. Was it really wrong to like him as much as I did?

Since my mind was still swimming with _imaginative imaginations_ and crabs basking in the sun, I wasn't exactly thinking straight. In my moment of irrational thinking, I leaned forward to kiss him. Our lips brushed for literally a zillionth of a second before Christian jerked his head back. I did the same. I was mortified, traumatized. How could I be so dense?

Christian had this horrible guilty look on his face and I didn't even want to know what mine looked like. "I… ah…" I stammered and pushed my hair out of my face. "I have to go." I sat up ready to make a break for it. I had to go into hiding now and never see daylight again. _Shit._

"Wait." Christian said grabbing my arm and keeping me in place. "I just…"

I shook my head and refused to look at him. "No, I'm sorry. I had a lot of champagne tonight." Lie. "And… I-"

"Don't apologize." He said and gently took my chin in his hand. He moved my face towards his. "Can we just…hold that thought for now?"

My heart was pounding in my ears. _I was such an epic failure_. "Um… I have to go home."

"Let's play a game."

"What?"

"You have to lie back down."

I felt like such a fool. "Jesus Christian, won't you just let me go?"

"Can't, we're on a deserted island."

"Christian…"

"Seriously, lie down." Slowly I did and closed my eyes. "Okay so, you have to count my breathing and I'll count yours. And in morning we'll see who lasted the longest before falling asleep."

"All right." I mumbled knowing there was no way I was going to fall asleep.

"The winner gets to decide the loser's fate." He said and took a deep breath. "In three…two…one…"

...

I think I won. It was probably hours later and I was still awake. I stopped counting because I was driving myself insane. When I was certain Christian was asleep, I sat up slowly. I had to escape. I took off my shoes and quietly padded out of the room. In the kitchen, I found an old note that said _"Your turn to buy milk, Christian."_ I grabbed a stubby artist's pencil, erased what it said, and wrote "_1076_" on it. I padded back to the painted room and placed the note between his folded hands resting on his stomach. Feeling ashamed, I hurried out of the apartment and all the way home.

Even alone in my own bed I still couldn't fall asleep.

* * *

><p><span><strong>NEXT UPDATE – 8<strong>**TH**** JANUARY**

**SNEAK PEAK FROM CHAPTER 8**

_My door was broken._

_Yes, broken. It was slightly open and the doorframe was mangled where the lock was. Someone had broken in._

_I froze keys in my hand. I had a horrible image of all my belongings completely thrown about the apartment. Or what if whoever broke in was still inside. What if there was a crazy serial killer named __Crowbar __and he actually had a crowbar to hit me over the head with? My heart pounded in my chest, but because I was stupid, I pushed forward._

_Instead of my apartment in complete ruins, I found it completely normal. Nothing was out of place. I grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door. I was ready to fight. Inching my way further into the apartment I could make out the faint smell of cigarettes. The culprit was a smoker! I committed that to memory for when I made a police statement. With the umbrella raised, I entered the living room and actually let out a groan. "Dickhead." I muttered to myself._

**A/N So who do you think was that 'dickhead'? LOL Next chapter we will see a brief glimpse about Ana's past. Also Ana and Christian will be seen completing yet another task from Ana's **_**'Life Improvement list'**_

**Can you guess which one? :p**

_So I replied to your questions and queries -_

_**Myrika**_

_**Henrika Fanfiction**_

_**1fitgily**_** – **_No I actually never intended to have Elena in this story, but I thought I should ask my readers and get their views also :)_

_**Pielietje **__- hahaha yes Ethan was both insensitive and horny! LOL_

_**Cutiepie91**_

_**Foggynights – **__Elliot and Kate would be introduced in the coming chapters and yes, Ava is their daughter :)_

_**Grey Steele Fan**_

_**Nataaaification – **__don't worry you'll get many more kisses later! :D for sure x_

_**Grey-Gaara**_

_**Lesbonmots**_

_**South Gal**_

_**Smills**_

_**Ladymolten **__– I can guarantee you a punch to Ethan from Christian in the later chapters!_

_**Katanna**_

_**Janeellove –**__ Christian will find it out about Ana being paid but not now probably towards the end of the story _

_**Emi17**_

_**Tiffanynida69**__ – I totally love the fact that you love my sneak peaks! I think it is quite fun! So how was this one? Let me know x_

_**Khiyo gizele**_

_**Blueeyes57 **__– errr...no my boyfriend didn't swallowed my earring or something! LOL :)_

_**Kcantave**_

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_**CrazyInLoveWithJamieDornan **__- LOVE YOUR USERNAME ^_^_

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_**kiki**_

_** 16 **__- hahahaah you wrote the longest review! And I loved reading it :) _

_**Glittergamer1 **_

_**Crazyforgrey**_

_**Christiangreypa**_

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_THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVE GUYS! _

_And Gosh! I just love reading your reviews the way you guys love reading this story! So let me know what you think of this chapter xx_

**Thank you to all those who favorited and followed this story. **

**If you guys have any questions regarding the story or this chapter then review me! I'll answer them in Chapter 8 :) **

**Thank you for reading ****LOVE BLOOMS **** xx**

**Until next update...**

**Charlotte x**


	8. Chapter 8: You broke my door!

**A/N ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONG TO E L JAMES AND I'M JUST A FANGIRL WITH A VERY IMAGINATIVE IMAGINATION.**

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 8 : You broke my door!<strong>

_I could hear them fighting again. It sounded the same as every single fight they ever had._

"_She's your daughter too. You never talk to her! Hell you don't even look at her!"_

"_What do you want me to do Ray? Huh? I'm fucking tired of all this nonsense."_

"_You are her mother for fuck's sake Carla! Don't you feel anything for her?! Anything at all?"_

"_She's your fucking responsibility Ray! Not mine!"_

"_You know wha-"As soon as Ray who saw me coming in through the door, he stopped shouting. He took a deep breath and said in a much calmer voice, "We'll discuss about this later Carla. When you are sane and not high on weed." He sneered at her._

_Finally, he again took a deep breath to calm himself down and called out to me, "Hey Annie! How was school?"_

"_Really good daddy! You know I got selected for the school play?!" I jumped enthusiastically. In my moment of excitement, my seven old self forgot about the fight between my parents. "And you know what? I get to play Snow White! Ms. Mason said that I'm perfect for the role! Can you believe that daddy?!" I was literally jumping. Ray bends down so that we were on the same height level. _

"_Oh my darling girl! That's such a good news to celebrate for! How about an ice cream treat?"_

"_But daddy it's almost winter." I pointed out._

"_Are you going to let a silly little thing like the weather keep you away from frozen delights?"_

_I chuckled. "No, daddy." _

"_Okay then let's go!"_

_I glanced back at her. My mother. Carla. She was just standing there pretending to not listen anything, barely acknowledging us. "Mommy will you come with us?"_

"_I have some work to do." That was her standard reply to everything I asked her to do. After that, she went straight up to her room. I looked at her retreating figure hoping that she will come back. I wanted her to come with us. _

_Like we all used to._

_But she never came back._

_I remember going back home after our ice-cream outing. It was late evening. When we went back in everything looked normal. I called out for her. My mother. I had brought a black current flavored ice cream tub. Her favorite. I called out for her again. Again, no reply. _

_Then I remembered that she must be in her room. I went up looking for her, Ray behind me. As soon as I unlocked the door, I saw the whole room was in a complete mess. Clothes lying around, cosmetics and jewelry lying on the floor, the bed sheet crumpled. But the thing that caught my attention was a half torn paper lying on the dressing table. _

_**Don't try to find me.**_

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><p>Today had been a good day.<p>

Well except the fact that Gail had sent me her sequel to '_PLANK OF PASSION_' apparently titled _'JOURNEY TO PARADISE'._

_Umm...yeah right! It is as bad as it sounds._

I swear to god I love Gail to death but she seriously needs to stop writing erotica. I mean c'mon I think it should be illegal to write the word _'throbbing member'_ seven times in a paragraph. But other than reading badly written erotica, life seemed _good_ now. I had friends. I had…_Christian_. Well not really. I'd completely embarrassed myself with him. There was no recovering from that. I might as well jump out of window. He was probably glad I left in the middle of the night. I cringed at the thought of having to endure a morning conversation with him.

_Face it, I thought. It's over._

Just as I arrived at my building, my phone rang. I prayed it wasn't Christian. It wasn't him. Instead, it was _Ethan_. I sighed and shoved my phone back in my bag.

There was no way I was going to see him. _That moron! _Today was supposed to be a good day.

Of course, when I walked up the stairs to my apartment, my mood completely changed.

My door was broken.

Yes, broken. It was slightly open and the doorframe was mangled where the lock was. Someone had broken in.

I froze keys in my hand. I had a horrible image of all my belongings completely thrown about the apartment. Or what if whoever broke in was still inside. What if there was a crazy serial killer named _Crowbar _and he actually had a crowbar to hit me over the head with? My heart pounded in my chest, but because I was stupid, I pushed forward.

Instead of my apartment in complete ruins, I found it completely normal. Nothing was out of place. I grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door. I was ready to fight. Inching my way further into the apartment I could make out the faint smell of cigarettes. The culprit was a smoker! I committed that to memory for when I made a police statement. With the umbrella raised, I entered the living room and actually let out a groan. "Dickhead." I muttered to myself.

Sleeping on my couch was..._Christian!_

What he was doing in my apartment was beyond me. I lowered the umbrella and walked over to him. It reminded me of the first time I leant him my couch. It was too small for him, but he didn't seem to notice. He still had his black leather jacket on and boots and was snoring lightly. I almost smiled at how innocent he looked. But he wasn't! He broke into my home!

_The Nerve!_

"Christian, what the fuck!" I poked the end of my umbrella into his shoulder. He grunted himself awake.

"What?" He blinked rapidly and sat up.

"You broke my door!"

I watched as he rubbed a hand over his face. Then he tipped his head up to mine and smirked. "Hey,"

My eyes narrowed. "You know breaking and entering is against the law."

He stood up slowly and stretched his back. "You left your TV on."

"What?"

"You left it on." He said again. "I came over," He checked his watch. "Three hours ago. You didn't answer the door, but you left the TV on. I could hear it."

I didn't follow. "Okay…"

"I figured you were home. I mean, how can you just leave the TV on and leave. So when you didn't answer I assumed you were dead or something."

Christian was concerned about me? "Then you broke down my door?"

"Yeah. I thought you slipped in the tub and cracked your head open."

"But I didn't." I said.

He sighed. "No you didn't. But I bruised my shoulder by ramming into your door anyway. So after when I was sure that you didn't drown in the bath tub or something I figured you must have forgotten to switch off your TV and in the meanwhile I decided to take a _small_ _nap_."

I bit my lip to hold back my smile. "Oh, well. Sorry."

He shrugged. "Don't worry I'll fix your door."

I nodded, and then realized how awkward this was. Less then twenty-four hours ago, he was rejecting me. God this was horrible. I tucked my hair behind my ears as Christian stretched again. "Why do you have a wheelchair in your bedroom?"

My head snapped up. "You were in my room?" I felt the anger rising and Christian sensed it.

"After I checked to make sure you that you didn't drown in the bathroom I checked the other rooms." Awkward was a very mild term now.

_Uncomfortable _was better. "Sorry I didn't know that was a no fly zone." He added probably after I turned bright red.

"You should probably go."

He didn't move. "Excuse me?"

"Look, I'm really tired and… stuff."

"Ana, I didn't mean to upset you."

My mouth was getting dry. "You didn't. I'm just tired."

"Well maybe if you hadn't snuck out of my place in the middle of the night you'd be more rested."

_Wow…_

Christian groaned. "Okay that was a stupid thing to say. I'm stupid…and sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah well, whatever."

When he brushed his fingers across my cheek, I flinched away. "I'm sorry, Ana. I'm sorry for breaking your door. I'm sorry for going in your room, and I'm sorry for not kissing you last night."

I blushed again. "Christian, it's all right."

"It's not. Would you believe me if I told you I didn't want to make you miserable?"

I looked up at him. "You don't have to explain."

"No really, I'm not that great. Whatever you like about me will probably only make you mad later. I don't want to make you miserable; I just want to be around you."

I could only nod.

"I'm really sorry, Ana."

"Stop saying you're sorry, it really pisses me off when people do that."

"I'm making up for all the times I didn't say it." When I didn't say anything he changed the tone of his voice. "By the way you won. 1076 was definitely better than I did. I got up to 302 before I passed out." I smiled a little even though I knew I should be embarrassed. "So you get to choose my punishment. But I figured you could just make me watch all the Lord of the Rings, so I brought them."

"You brought them?"

"It's still on your list, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Great." He smiled. "Do you have popcorn?"

I put the movie on as Christian made popcorn in the kitchen. When the movie was ready, I sat on the couch and realized how nervous I was. "I have a wheelchair because I used to sit in it." I called to him and waited for him to say something. He didn't. "Because I couldn't walk." I added eventually.

"Why couldn't you walk?"

I dug my fingers into the couch. "Because I sorta had an accident."

_Silence._

I bit my lip. "I mean I did. Not sorta. I _did_ have an accident, which left me paralyzed."

"How'd that happen?" He called back. I could hear the popcorn popping.

I had never talked about it with anyone except the therapist I was seeing. "Me and my father...we used to go on monthly fishing trips. But one day, early morning...um...while we were on our way...a drunk driver rammed into us."

_Silence._

"My father died on the spot but I _survived_. The doctors were sure that I wasn't going to make it..._but I did_. Barely though. I was paralyzed for a year and a half."

When Christian came into the living room with a large bowl of popcorn, I couldn't read his expression. "What did it feel like?" He asked.

"Nothing. Didn't feeling like anything. Recovering hurt though. I have a really big scar from back surgery."

He placed the popcorn on the coffee table. "Can I see it?" His voice was calm and smooth.

I nodded as he sat down next to me. I lifted my shirt in the back and waited for Christian to say something.

I felt his rough hand against my back as he slid my shirt further up my back. I was sure he could feel my heart pounding against his hand.

The other traced the long scar running along my spine. "It looks pretty cool." He said after a while. My skin was tingling all over, turning from hot to cold.

"I've never seen it." I said looking slightly over my shoulder.

"Never?"

I shook my head. "Too scared I guess." His hands left my back as I straightened my shirt. "Ready for hours and hours of Lord of the Rings?"

When I looked at him, he had this small smile on his lips.

"Yeah." He said.

I picked up the remote and pressed the play button as we snuggled into the couch.

We got into it pretty well. There were comments every once and while, like:

_"That elf chick is hot."_

_I snickered. "That's Orlando Bloom."_

_Pause. __"Well, never mind."_

Or,

_"Sam has a total man-crush on Frodo."_

Or,

_"I think Gollum just needs a hug." Christian decided._

_"When you say hug do you mean bath, right?"_

_"Yeah."_

After about the fifth hour I realized how stupid this was. I no longer cared about Frodo or The Ring. I just wanted him to bloody kill the thing and go home. I glanced over at Christian who also looked like a zombie. His eyes were red around the edges and his shoulders were slumped. "We don't have to do this anymore."

He seemed to snap out of his trance. "No, no, no, _no._" He said licking his dry lips. "We'll regret this if we don't do it."

I leaned back against the couch. "Fine…"

Hours later and the sun was long gone. We were both mush on the couch. We'd seen it all. The elves the dwarves, the giant elephants, the crazy trees, the freaky dude with the high voice. I wanted to kill myself. So we were at the part where Frodo was about to throw the _damn_ ring into the fiery mountain. Everything was very dramatic with the fire and the crazy epic music. Finally, we were at the end. Christian was sitting on the edge of the couch, eyes wide, fingers dug into the cushion. I was the same way.

_Then…_

Everything went dark. The power went out.

I couldn't see Christian but I heard the weird sound he made. It was like a cry and a plea. I on the other hand was thinking the power outage was a joke. Everything would come back on and we'd watch the end of the movie. It didn't. I almost wept.

"This isn't funny." Christian said.

"I'm not laughing."

He moaned. "God hates me. Did I mention that?"

"You should have mentioned that before we killed our brains."

"_Fuck… "_

"I can't move."

"Me neither." He said.

"All right then. Good night, Christian." I said closing my eyes.

"Goodnight, Ana."

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><p><strong>AN Okay so I know this chapter wasn't much and in fact is the shortest one I have ever written so far. But the good news is that I have already completed chapter 9 (and chapter 10 is half written). So if you guys want it I can post it tomorrow! Let me know x**

Most of you guessed right who that 'dickhead' was but _**50ShadesFever**_ _was the only one who spot on guessed right about what next will Ana and Christian will complete next from Ana's 'Life Improvement List'. _

**Sillie j –**_ haha sorry I must have skipped your name last time! LOL but see I wrote your name on the top this time xx_

**Lena1034- **_Thank you for your review! xx_

**Lillian121****- **_Another thing please update your story __Ana and Christian- Having a baby soon__! I'm dying here! Literally! haha_

**Lost by words- **_I read your story 'Frigid Warmth' and I gotta say I really loved it! :) Ever thought about continuing it more than a two shot? _

**Eagles1091- **_Thank you for your kind words Linda! _

**TiffanyNida –**_ Was this chapter "Amaze-balls"? LMAO_

**1fitgily- **_How was this chapter? ^_^ Why Christian pulled away from Ana will be revealed later. And yeah you were almost right, but there is a bit more to it._

**50ShadesFever- **_She would ditch Ethan that's for sure! And no sex between them for a while because Ana would be busy with Christian! (Wink, wink)_

**Emi17-**_ Mia will be back in I think...Chapter 10 :) And I have something really hilarious planned for Chapter 10! I'm laughing just thinking about that :p_

**Nataaaification- **_Thank you for the review! And I pinky swear (LOL!) a kiss in later chapters! Without any interruptions, I must add! Thank you for the review! :)_

**Grey Steele fan- **_You are right Christian is quite secretive! And that adds to the charm of this story. But don't worry we will get to know his side of the story too, real soon! xx_

**Anusjali- **_Thank you reading this story! I totally love the fact that you love this story! :) So how was this chapter? _

**Ashley – **_Now that you have mentioned, AS and CG to do resemble like couple from Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey. Haha and I love reading your reviews! And Ana 101% sure won't turn up like Natalia!_

**Pielietje- **_Why Christian jerked, his head away from Ana will be revealed in the later chapters. So did you liked this chapter? Penny for your thoughts :p_

**Kiki-**_ LOL how cute! Thank you for your review! Xx_

**Ana13- **_Don't worry I'll complete this story for sure! How was this chapter? Did you like it?_

**Rasha007-**_ awww your review was like the sweetest ever! :) btw love your username '007' very James Bond-ish hahaha xx_

**Shantiprime- **_Thank you for your lovely review! And sorry this chapter was shorter than the rest :) you were the first one to review this chapter xx_

_**If you guys have any questions regarding this chapter than review me! I'll clear them up in the next chapter. Thank you all for reading LOVE BLOOMS xx**_

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><p><strong>And I totally forgot to mention this in my last chapter update but I got an 'anonymous' review for chapter 6 <strong>

"_Ana is a tramp, hoe, bitch, slut, skank, whore...__**"**_

"_Am I the only one that's disgusted by this and Ana?_

_Christian now knows that Ana is a fucking prostitute and doesn't even give a shit._

_I say, Christian should start dating another woman, and shove it in Ana's face and make her jealous. Ana doesn't deserve a good guy like Christian.__**"**_

**TO THE ANONYMOUS REVIEWER:**

**I don't even know why you are even reading this story (and you were on chapter 6!) if you think Ana is a- **_**and I quote**_**- "A TRAMP, BITCH, SLUT, SKANK, WHORE". **

**You really have a very vivid vocabulary, I must say.**

**I know that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion but saying such hateful comments doesn't make you any more superior. Instead it makes you a FUCKING COWARD.**

**AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE. **

**Leaving an anonymous review just proves that. I dare say, if you have the guts do it again from your FFN account. I very clearly stated this in the first chapter itself that if you don't like the idea of this story then LEAVE IT! There are other many good fanfictions out there, better than this one. **

**Another thing, if you thought that this review would make me quit this story then you are sadly mistaken. I AM SO NOT SCARED FROM COWARDS LIKE YOU.**

**My advice to you: FUCK OFF**


	9. Chapter 9: You ARE in love

**A/N FIFTY SHADES OF GREY AND ALL ITS CHARACTERS BELONGS TO E L JAMES AND ALL I HAVE TO CREDIT IN THIS STORY IS JUST MY IMAGINATIVE IMAGINATION.**

_All right guys all of you asked for this chapter and without any further adieu here it is...ENJOY! :) xx __*CHAPTER 10 SNEAK PEAK AT THE END*_

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 9: You ARE in Love<strong>

I woke with the sun streaming on my face. Groaning I lifted my arm to shield myself. I couldn't. There was something on top of me. I blinked open my eyes and realized I was in my living room, instead of my bed.

_What?_

It took me a few moments to remember the whole Lord of The Rings fiasco. Then I remembered Christian. I looked down and there he was, his entire body sprawled across mine.

_Shit… _I tried to push him off but it was safe to say that he was a lot heavier than me. I grabbed his hair and tugged his head from my chest.

He only continued to snore. I groaned and pinched his ear. He awoke with an electric shock. "I don't want the damn ring!" He said still in his dream state. When he blinked and saw me staring at him he rubbed a hand through his messy copper hair.

I sat up and straightened my shirt. That's when I noticed…the large wet stain on my chest.

"Did you..._DROOL ON_ _ME_?!" I screamed.

He winced. "Why are you yelling? It's too early to yell."

"You… you… drooled!" I sputtered and jumped up.

"Yeah, it's a recurring problem I have." He yawned.

I pulled the shirt away from my body and jumped up. "You are such an animal."

He laughed. "How would _you _know?"

Rolling my eyes, I hurried out of the living room, not forgetting to stub my toe on a chair. Limping to my bedroom, I threw off my shirt and replaced it with a tank top.

_Drooled! Can you believe it? _

When I went back to the living room Christian was facedown, _snoring_ on the couch. I glared then grabbed his ear. He winced as I pulled his head to face mine. "First you break my door, then you stay all night, _then _you drooled on me. I think you've overstayed your welcome."

He glared back, but it was playful. "I broke your door with the intention of saving you. Then I stayed all night because I agreed to watch God knows how many hours of Lord of the Rings, sorry if I was too dead to move. Also because leaving you in an unlocked apartment seemed irresponsible. _Then _I drooled all over you because you happened to be my pillow."

I let go of his ear. He did have a point. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"I want some sleep."

"Tough. You have to fix my door."

He moaned. "I'll need a toolbox. Do you have one?"

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm completely helpless"

"Then maybe _you _should fix _your_ own damn door."

"Maybe I should call the cops and tell them a deranged man broke into my apartment and _drooled_ on me."

He sighed. "Fine."

I smiled. "You want eggs?"

"And French Toast?"

"You're pushing it."

"Bacon?"

"Depends on how nice my door looks."

It took Christian almost no time to fix what he'd broken. I was thankful that the power had come back on so I could make some food. So after Christian had finished we watched the last of The Lord of the Rings movie. When it was done I skipped to the kitchen and place a really small check mark next to _"watch all the Lord of the Rings movies in one sitting"_. We didn't really do it in one sitting, but there was no way I was doing that again.

"That's a pretty big smile; don't forget you still a few to go." He said appearing next to me.

I shrugged. "It feels good to finish something you started."

"You have a tattoo?" He asked tapping number one.

"That's what the checkmark says."

"Where?"

I bit my lip. "I'd rather you guess."

"Tease."

I laughed and began cleaning all the dishes I'd been neglecting for about a week when Christian leaned against the counter next to me and stared. I tried not to let it bother me, but I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked up at him. "What?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Only if it doesn't involve embarrassing myself."

"Are you in love with that guy?"

I shot him a strange glance. "What guy?"

"The guy you have casual sex with. The one you had a _fake _date with."

"It was fake. And if I was in love the sex wouldn't be casual, right?" I said defensively. Christian simply waited for me to answer his question. "No."

I said as if the idea of love was ridiculous. Christian still didn't say anything. "Besides how would I know? I've never been in love. I don't even want to _be _in love." _Right? _What was I talking about? I was just saying words that came to my head.

"Why not?" He asked.

I shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Because, it makes people vulnerable. I don't want to get hurt."

"What's the point of living without having your heart broken?" Didn't Christian get his heart splattered? I didn't get him.

I turned back to the dishes. "I've had my share of pain." I mumbled. "I may not want to fall in love, but I'm open to persuasion."

Christian looked like he was about to say something, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it. Sometimes he made me so nervous and silly. It felt like high school again. Then other times I could just do whatever with him. Of course then he would smile or smirk and I'd be shaking in my boots.

"_Shit,_" He said suddenly. I jumped a little. "Shit, shit, shit. I have to go." He said racing out of the room.

Curious, I followed. "Late?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to pick up Ava twenty minutes ago from kindergarten."

"The little girl with blonde hair?" I asked.

"Yeah." He pulled on his coat. "Come with me."

I thought about the dishes I had to do and shopping for grocery, since Elizabeth and Hannah were supposed to come over later for dinner. "Well, all right." I got my coat and pulled on my boots as Christian pulled on his own. I had to jog to keep up with him as he hurried down the stairs and out onto the street. I managed to catch up to him as he stopped at a crosswalk. I watched him twitch with anticipation as he waited for the light to turn.

"Do you like to run?" He asked.

I looked up at him. "Not really."

He smirked. "Too bad."

The light changed and he grabbed my hand. We sprinted across the street and continued all the way down to Broadway. My legs were nowhere close to the length of his, so I nearly tripped every few paces. He dodged people and managed to pull me out of harm's way. People and shops flew past us, and even though I was completely terrified, I was smiling widely.

All of a sudden, he stopped but I didn't. I tripped and would have scraped my face against the pavement if Christian hadn't caught me. "Going somewhere?" He asked a little out of breath.

I on the other hand was extremely out of breath. "Why'd…we… stop?"

"We're here." He said pointing to the school in front of us.

"Oh…" I mumbled.

This time Christian sprinted down an empty hallway alone. I watched him slide to a stop outside a classroom. Then he sighed and entered. "I know… I'm late." I heard him say as I approached the classroom. Christian was kneeling in front of Ava pleading for her forgiveness. She had her arms crossed and her nose pointed upward. "Look I'm really sorry, okay? We cool?" He said and glanced at me as I entered the room. In the corner was the teacher who looked amused as she put away toys.

It was weird to see Christian surrounded by toys and little furniture for children. It made him look large and dark. I tried to picture Christian as a kid himself, but I couldn't.

"You have to hop on one foot." She told him.

He looked dumfounded. "Excuse me?"

"Hop on one foot." She said shooting her stare at him.

Christian looked back at me. "Can you believe this?"

I grinned.

"I'm not going to hop on one foot."

She looked away from him. "Then you're still a silly face."

Christian ground his teeth together. "Did you just call me a silly face? Because I'll have you know that my face is most definitely not silly."

I laughed, but Ava did not. "Maybe you should just hop." I said.

He glared. "I'm not going to hop."

Ava stood up. "Then I'm going home!" She said picking up her pink princess backpack and storming out of the room.

Christian looked offended. He absently waved to the teacher, "Laters Mrs. B."

"Bye Christian." She said back still smiling.

Christian hurried after Ava and I hurried after Christian. She was fast for such a small person. "You can't go home! The entire reason I'm picking you up is because you can't go home!"

She continued to walk briskly. "I'm not your friend anymore!"

He huffed. "Well maybe I don't want to be your friend anymore. Did you ever think about that?"

I rolled my eyes as we left the school and stood on the sidewalk. "Christian, are you really arguing with a toddler?"

"She's being difficult! And _she_ was the one who started it!" He said turning on me.

"You're being insane."

Christian turned to Ava who was standing at the corner with her little thumb stuck up. "What are you doing?" He asked.

She still has her lips pursed tightly. "I'm getting a taxi."

I burst into laughter but Christian simply blinked. "You're two!"

She spun around and balled her tiny fists. "I am four!"

"Same thing." He shrugged.

"It really isn't." I told him.

Christian groaned and swiped his messy hair out of his face. "Fine," I couldn't help laughing right out loud when he began hopping up and down on one foot. "Look I'm hopping and humiliating myself in public, are you happy?"

Ava turned bright red from trying to hold in her giggles. "You look funny!"

"Can I stop now?" He growled.

She nodded and burst out laughing. As did I. Christian stopped, grabbed Ava, and maneuvered her so she fit on his back and grabbed my hand. "You're lucky I like you, the both of you." He added with an evil stare that shot right at me. "Otherwise I'd have to drop you both down a sewer and leave you for the crocodiles."

"I think its alligators." I said as we walked down the street. Ava looked cute with her chin resting on top of Christian's head.

"I'm pretty sure they're crocodiles." He challenged.

I shook my head. "No, I'm pretty sure it's alligators."

"There are alligators in the sewers?" Ava blinked wide-eyed at me. "Really?"

"They're crocodiles." He corrected.

"It's an urban legend." I told Ava who was still looking at me in a state of awe.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Just a story."

"How do you know they're not crocodiles?" Christian asked with his thinking face on.

"Because the story is that people would bring home alligators as pets from Florida. And alligators live in Florida. Crocodiles are in South America, Africa, India, and stuff like that. But I could be wrong."

Christian glared. "Yeah, well you probably are."

I simply smiled.

We lazily walked around, and I never asked our destination. I thought I was following Christian but I think he was following me. So, we wandered aimlessly. When we passed an ice cream shop Ava let out a loud scream and pointed to the large sign. Christian groaned, but I could tell he was enjoying himself.

"What flavor do you want?" I asked Ava who was on the very tips of her toes, trying desperately to peer over and into all the barrels of ice cream. I was about to help her up when Christian picked her up and placed her on his hip.

"I want Strawberry and Chocolate and bubblegum." She beamed at me.

Christian rolled his eyes. "You can have one third of that." When she shot him a puzzled look he said, "Pick one."

She pouted. "All of them, _please?_"

"Just because you said _please_ doesn't mean it will work." Since her plan wasn't working she looked up at him with her wide eyes and blinked.

"I'm too smart to fall for your charm."

"But Leila lets me get three!"

Just because we were in an ice cream shop didn't mean I wasn't able to feel the temperature drop. Christian immediately changed from his usual sly demure to cold. Ava didn't notice or care, but she continued to rant about how this person, Leila, bought her anything she wanted. Christian turned back to the person behind the counter and asked for strawberry, chocolate, and bubblegum.

"And this one time," She said as Christian looked down at the ice cream. "She bought me a balloon and it was the same color as the dress I was wearing!" Christian placed her down.

"Hey Ava," I said crouching down to her level. "I spy with my little eye," I said hoping to shut her up. Clearly, Christian was uncomfortable.

"Something that is…red."

Her eyes lit up. "Is it my dress?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

She looked around. "That clock?"

"Nope."

She continued to guess a million little red things for the next few minutes. I had no idea what I picked. I just said red. Christian loosened up a little. He handed me my mocha chocolate and then handed Ava her three scoops. There was no way she could finish it. I couldn't even finish it, but she looked excited nonetheless.

Of course, the second we left the shop Ava let out a loud gasp as her ice cream fell right off her cone and landed with a splat on the sidewalk.

All three of us stood looking down at the three different colored scoops and sighed. Ava's lip began to tremble, so I held out my ice cream for her to take. Ava smiled and was about to take it when Christian grabbed it away. "I'll buy her another." His voice was different.

"Christian, it's okay. I didn't really want any."

"But now you've made me look like an asshole-"

"Bad word! Bad word!"

"-because I didn't offer first."

I raised my eyebrow. _What the fuck is he talking about? _"Don't worry about it. This way you don't have to spend another _four _dollars on ice cream." I said taking my ice cream from him and holding it out for Ava. Christian just took it back.

"I said I was going to buy her a new cone." He said in a deep voice. His eyes were hard and a little angry. I didn't exactly appreciate it.

"And I said she can have _my_ ice cream."

"If you didn't want the damn ice cream then why did you say yes when I offered?"

Was he really getting mad at me? I blinked. "I was being polite, but obviously it was wasted on you."

"Maybe next time you shouldn't be so polite and save me the extra two bucks."

Who the hell did he think he was? "Look," I said zipping up my coat. "Don't bite off my head because someone brought up your ex-girlfriend. It's not my fault you messed up. Okay?"

_Stupid Ana._

I totally shouldn't have said that. I opened my mouth to apologize but something about Christian expression warned me not to.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at the two ice cream cones in his hand then at Ava who was drooling over them. Using my cone, he transferred my ice cream to his and handed it to Ava. Then he turned and walked away, hands in his pocket, shoulders slumped, and Ava scurrying after him.

Feeling guilty, I bit my lip and hurried after them. "Wait Christian." I said jumping in front of him and pressing my hands against his chest to make him stop. He tried to side step me, but I blocked him. "Ah…" I said as he waited for me to speak. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"

He simply blinked.

"Come on, Elizabeth and Hannah from _the flower shop_ are coming over. And I bet you do want to meet Elizabeth, after all. And, um… you can bring Ava."

He still didn't say anything.

I blew my bangs out of my face.

"Jesus, Christian, the silent treatment? What are you, a girl?" _Oh Ana… _"Wait, I didn't mean to say that. You're not a girl. I'm a girl, and I'm really stupid. I didn't mean to say that. Let's just erase it, okay?"

I realized my hands were still braced against his chest. I moved them quickly. "Fine." He shrugged.

"Fine to dinner or fine to starting over?"

"Both."

I bit down on my lip to stop from smiling. "All right. Ah… six?"

"Six." He nodded.

I could sense that he didn't really want to have dinner. "You don't have to come or whatever, I just…"

"Okay."

I blew out a frustrated sigh. "Can you speak to me in sentences?"

"I, Christian, will attend dinner at your home. And I, Christian, will bring Ava."

_Um_..."Great! Thanks."

Christian reached down and picked Ava up. She was happily licking on her double scoop ice cream. "Tell Ana you'll see her later." He said to her.

"I'll see you later, Anaaaa!" Ava said, face covered in chocolate.

I smiled but didn't really feel any better. "Yeah, later."

* * *

><p>"Who's coming over?" Elizabeth asked from my kitchen doorway as I scrambled to finish the chicken I was making. Okay, truth be told, I know nothing about cooking. I can make the basics like eggs and alfredo, especially when it comes in a jar. But cooking for people? No, not for me. Then why the hell did I invite people over? Maybe I wanted to social. Maybe I was tired of being a loner.<p>

"His name is Christian."

"Is he _Christian_?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe?"

"Is he _religious_?"

"He drinks. He smokes. And keeps a condom in his wallet. So no, I don't think so."

"And he is the same odd guy who ordered Lilacs?"

"Yes."

"Is he gay?"

"No."

"And he paints?"

"Sometimes he draws."

Elizabeth didn't say anything. I knew she was judging. "He's nice, and he's bringing a little girl named Ava."

"He has kids?"

"No, he's babysitting."

"So he's a painting babysitter?"

I huffed and closed the oven. "Are you being protective or annoying?"

"Mostly annoying."

I wiped my forehead with my gloved hand. "Well, stop."

"So, is he like… you know, your…"

"Real smooth. No we're not dating, fooling around, or humping each other, happy?"

Just as I was rolling my eyes, the doorbell rang. I passed Elizabeth and went to the door. Since Hannah ditched us at the last moment for a '_date'_, I knew who would be at the door. The second I opened it Ava flew towards me. "Anaaaa Look!" She said holding up two pieces of paper. "I drew Christian and Christian drew me!" She giggled. I looked down at the pictures. One was obviously done by Ava. It was completely abstract.

Basically it looked like two birds fighting. The other was obviously done by Christian. It was of Ava sitting at a table with her tongue caught between her teeth and a long pencil in her hand. I laughed. "That looks exactly like Christian." I said pointing to hers. Christian was trailing behind her offering a smirk and a wine bottle.

"Oh. My. _Gosh!" _Ava said gawking at Elizabeth. She walked up to her slowly. The top of her head just made it past her knee.

Elizabeth peered down at Ava. "Hi," She said cautiously.

"If you had leaves, you'd be a _strawberry_ tree!" She said.

True enough! Elizabeth was tall, like really really tall... and she was wearing heels! Not to mention her _pink hair_. And she was wearing a _PINK_ colored short dress too.

_WEIRD doesn't even begin to cover it._

Apparently 'pink' was Elizabeth's all time favorite color. No wonder she looked like a strawberry tree.

Christian chuckled at Elizabeth's strange expression. "I'm Christian." He said holding out his hand. Elizabeth took it, but only nodded.

I sighed. "Her name is Elizabeth. She's being annoying."

"Can I climb you?" Ava asked randomly as she pulled on Elizabeth's leg.

"I…well…"

Christian swooped down and caught her. "You can climb me." He said saving Elizabeth.

"But you're short." She frowned, so did Christian.

"I'm six foot two, thank you very much."

Everyone followed me back into the kitchen where Christian and Elizabeth sat opposite each other. I picked Ava from Christian's back and sat her on the counter while I got out glass.

"What are _testicles_?"

All our head snapped towards Ava. _What did she just say? _"My mommy said it when she was sleeping." She swung her dangling feet and I noticed how the soles of her shoes lit up.

"I'm sure she appreciates you telling us that." I said taking the glasses to the table.

Ava hopped off the table and immediately went over to Elizabeth. She climbed right onto her lap. "Um…" She said wondering what she was supposed to do with her.

"Do you know what testicles are?"

Christian rubbed his brow. "_Jesus_ Ava..._I'm so going to kill Kate for that_." He muttered to himself.

Elizabeth looked down at her then at me, her eyes were pleading for help. "Is that like a really hard test? I had to do a test and it was _so _hard. I had to write all the numbers I knew! But sometimes I make the three backwards. Does that happen to you?"

She shook her head. "No, not really."

"Wow, you must have a really big brain!"

* * *

><p>The chicken was a little dry. So what? Like I said, I don't cook. When I placed the food in front of everyone, they all just stared. Ava poked it with the end of her fork, and then frowned. "Can we get take out?" She asked hopefully.<p>

"No, Ava." Christian said sternly. She pouted.

"It got a little _overcooked_." I said quickly. My entire face was heating up in embarrassment.

"Right…" Elizabeth said. She slowly picked up a piece and examined it before plopping it into her mouth. Everyone watched her slowly chew it while she tried her best from making a disgusting face. I bit my lip and tried some. The second it hit my tongue I spit it out. Ava laughed.

It didn't even taste like chicken! "Okay, let's let Chinese." I said as Elizabeth spit out her rancid meat.

Chinese food is _amazing_. When I was, little I wanted to eat everything with chopsticks, but it turns out eating cereal with chopstick is painfully slow. It really only works with Chinese food.

Ava demanded that she sit on my lap as she ate.

She got so exited when Christian handed her a fortune cookie. She cracked it open and held the little piece of paper between her fingers. "What does it say?" She said holding it up for me to read.

"_To lower your stress levels get a… cat… "I_ read.

Christian chuckled. "Weird."

"A cat?" Ava yelled. "I love cats!"

Christian snapped his open and read, _"You have unusual equipment for success, use it properly." _We all stared at him. "I'll remember that..." He mumbled.

Elizabeth was next. _"Everything will now come your way."_ She said. "Cool… Your turn." She said to me.

I grabbed my cookie expecting to read something stupid about how I'll achieve greatness if I work out more or something. Instead, mine said,

"You _ARE _in love."

_Excuse me?_

Christian was giving me a strange smirk that I could see out of the corner of my eye. Jesus, what kind of freaking fortune was that. What was with the CAPITAL letters?

Stupid cookie…

"Hey look, they gave us an extra fortune!" Christian said picking up the last cookie. He broke it and unfolded the paper. "_You are not illiterate."_

I laughed a little too loudly only because I wanted to be distracted by my own shitty fortune.

_You ARE in love… Pfft… _no way…

* * *

><p><strong>SNEAK PEAK FROM CHAPTER 10<strong>

_"How old were you when you had sex?"_

_I pulled my arm away from him. "I swear if I had mace right now…"_

_"I'm serious."_

_"Twenty one." I said._

_"Really twenty one?" He asked. I glared. "You never had sex in high school?"_

_I was growing hot. "I only went to high school for one year, and I was wearing forearm crutches. I wasn't the hottest girl in school, okay?"_

_He didn't say anything for a moment. "Sorry."_

_I balled my fists. "Sorry? Sorry for what? Sorry I wasn't the hottest girl in school?"_

_"No," He said calmer now. "Sorry you were unhappy."_

_Shifting I sighed and sat down next to him. "Yeah well… it was a long time ago. How old were you when you had sex?"_

_"Fifteen." He said._

_I raised an eyebrow. "You're such a whore."_

_He chuckled. "Yeah I was. I thought breasts were the coolest things since __Gameboy__."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN So how was it everyone? ****'You ARE in Love'**** *wink, wink* **

**And the next chapter gets even hotter...ANYONE EXCITED?**

**If you really really love this story then go click on the little button at the end of this page, which reads '****REVIEW'**** and show me some love! **

**Next chapter Ana and Christian will complete yet another task...**

**CAN ANY OF YOU GUESS WHICH ONE? **

**So I replied to all the reviewers. Another thing, if you are a guest and want to ask a question please do leave a name else it might get a little confusing :) **

_**Silliej- **__LOL I know I am E-V-I-L! So what do you think of this chapter? :p_

_**Kiki- **__Thank you! And Mia will be back in the next chapter :)_

_**Dnlnncts**_**-** _'Humanizing Ana & Christian' as you said was what I really wanted to do! To be honest I was really tired of reading the same old stories here on FFN! So I finally decided to use my brain and create a story what I would want other authors to post (God does that sound weird or what! LOL) Anyways thank you for your review! Xx_

_**Smills**_- _Thank_ _you! So how was this chapter? :)_

_**Ahdz86**_- _LOL impatient much? Was this chapter worth the wait? Penny for your thoughts :p_

_**LadyMolten**_- _Sorry to hear the same incident happened to you! Haha! Though I bet, your friend didn't drooled on you LMAO And a little spoiler it might take a while before 'sex in public' happens...more interesting things to come though..._

_And yeah Ethan doesn't care about Ana, he doesn't even know her real name to begin with...Well Ana never mentioned it and he never asked her._

_As I have said in the earlier chapters, also that Ana was really desperate for money when she started her 'Friends with benefits' relationship with Ethan mostly because of her financial condition. I know it might seem confusing to you as of now, but it will be fully elaborated in the later chapters :) And, thank you for your review! _

_**Nataaaification**__- LOL I know I'm evil *INSERT EVIL LAUGH* But you did like the aftermath of the power cut didn't you? :p _

_**Lena1034**__- Thank you darling for your review! Christian's past will be disclosed probably towards the middle of the story xx_

_**TiffanyNida69**__- Your response made me laugh aloud! Literally! And I myself am a VinCat fan but I'm mostly active in this fandom! I'll surely check out your stories too in the meantime. Once again, thank you for your review...IT WAS AMAZE BALLS! _

_**1fitgily**__**– "In fact, I have a throbbing member just for this story"**__HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA that is like the funniest one-liner ever! *CANT STOP LAUGHING*_

_So how's your throbbing member now! (Wink, wink) :)_

_**50shadesfucked**__- Thank you for your review(s). I'm really glad that you liked this story. How was this chapter?_

_**Pielietge**__- Yes we will learn about what Christian thinks about her and Ethan, but not now. So, What was your fave part in this chapter...?...Hmmm...I'm curious! _

_**MrsAnastasiaGrey**__- awww you poor thing! I can't bear one hour of that movie (no offense to any fans of the series who might be reading this!) let alone three! Grr...I don't know how you survived though HAHA! _

_**Khiyo**__**Gizele**__- Thank you darling! Your words were encouraging! And yeah you are right there will be bad and good reviews! But as long as you guys love this story I don't give a crap about any haters out there. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and that's why I still haven't deleted those anonymous reviews. _

_**Rasha007**__- How was this chapter Rasha? :p and you are right no one should have to do Lord of the Rings marathon twice! (I BET NO ONE CAN SURVIVE THAT!)_

_**WildSwans**__- Thank you! And yeah both Ana and Christian have a past. But Christian is still a mystery as of now! His story will be disclosed later :)_

_**Ashley**__- Hi Ashley! So how was this chapter? Xx WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY... ^_^_

_**Ansujali**__- If I can darling I would update this story daily, okay scratch that make it hourly hahaha but unfortunately, I can't! :/ Anyways, how was this chapter? Penny for your thoughts... :p_

_**SoulfulNate**__- Thank you love!_

_**Millarca666**__- Thank your for your lovely review! And yeah you are right there's something very satisfying about telling someone to "fuck off" :)_

_**Karynajamza**__- haha I know this update wasn't- to quote you –'__**EARLY QUICK SPEEDY**__' But I hoped you liked it!_

_**Ana13**__- And they will 'hook up' but just not now! But trust me the next chapter is going to be hilarious._

_**Shantiprime**__- Thank you for your lovely review :)_

_**Ptminor**__- Ethan might make a appearance in the coming chapters, nothing serious though. But I can assure you Ethan will get a punch from Christian FOR SURE! Hope that will make you feel better haha xx_

_**Brb817**__- I'm totally loving the fact that you love this story! So how was this chapter? :)_

_**MrsGreyEyes**__- Thank you for your reviews! I totally love love LOVE readind them x_

_**Primovere**__- Thank you! What do you think of this chapter x_

_**Chmielunka**__- Thank you for reading Love Blooms! xx_

_**GreyGaara**- thank you love! Let me know what you think of this chapter :)_

_**THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO FAV/ FOLLOWED THIS STORY! If you guys have any questions whatsoever, review me I'll clarify them in the next chapter update xx**_

_**UNTIL NEXT UPDATE...**_

_**Charlotte x**_


	10. Chapter 10: We are crashing a wedding

**A/N ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO E L JAMES. I OWN NOTHING. *sniffles***

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 10- We are crashing a wedding.<strong>

"You got to be joking." I moaned as I stood in front of a 360 mirror.

"Oh Ana!" Elizabeth cooed. "You look _soooo_ pretty!"

I was wearing a bride's maid dress. Normally that would be bad enough, but _this _bride's maid dress looked like something from a really cheesy 80s movie. It was _pink_ (no surprise there!) had ruffles along the bottom and a large satin bow across my chest. I blinked at my reflection in horror. "Liz, I love you. I really do. And I love that you love…" I banked.

"Ryan!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah him, but this dress is… well, really really _ugly_."

She pursed her lips. "Ana, it's not ugly. It's girly."

I was about to open my mouth when Hannah burst through the door to the large dressing room. She was also wearing the horrid dress. "I am _NOT _wearing this!" She screamed. "I look like a fucking cupcake."

Elizabeth shot her an angry glare. "Come on you guys, I'm getting married! Please just do this for me."

"There is no way I'm letting people see me in this!" I said pointing towards the monstrous dress that I was wearing. "How could you think this was a good idea?!"

Because Elizabeth was a sort of person who _almost_ never cries, Hannah and I watched in horror as she began to howl like a five year old. "I… just wanted… everything to be perfect!" She sobbed.

Hannah bumped into my shoulders. "Nice going." She mumbled. "You too." I muttered back to her.

"Look Liz, We'll wear the dresses." I held up my hand when Hannah opened her mouth to retort. Sometimes she never knew when to shut the hell up.

"_And" _I added shooting Hannah a glare, "we'll help you plan this wedding."

She wiped her large red eyes. "Really?"

"Yes," I mumbled and pinched Hannah.

She yelped and rubbed her arm. "Yeah…" She sighed and crossed her arms. "Sure…"

Elizabeth smiled and hugged the both of us. Hannah didn't look so thrilled. I almost laughed at her expression but I heard my phone ring somewhere in my bag. I hurried over and managed to catch it between the fourth and fifth ring. "Hello?" I said into it as I pulled up the front of my dress.

"You _need _to come over right now!" Christian said quickly.

"I'm in the middle of something." I said reaching for the zipper.

"No, seriously. This is an emergency. You need to come over."

I stopped and moved the phone to my other ear. "What sort of emergency."

"A big one. If you're not here in thirty minutes I'm hunting you down." He sounded concerned, and a little scared.

_Click._

I stared at my phone as my stomach began to roll.

_Emergency? _

What sort of emergency? Maybe something was wrong with Mia! That had to be it! I threw my phone back into my bag and slipped on my boots. "I have to go." I told the girls. They both turned to me and raised their eyebrows.

"Go?" They asked in unison.

"Yes go." I said grabbing my jacket and throwing it over the horrible dress. "This dress is great," I said absently and slung my bag over my shoulder so that it hanged on my waist. "Buy it."

"Wait, Ana. You're leaving with the dress on?"

I looked down. "Yes, well. Yeah." I hurried to the door and looked back. "Don't worry I won't ruin it. I promise."

* * *

><p>In twenty minutes the cab pulled up to, Christian's building. I threw money at the polite man behind the wheel. As I dashed out of the cab, I saw some people giving me odd looks, mainly because of my so-called <em>"monstrous dress".<em>

I noticed it was snowing. _Snowing_! Finally, I loved snow. But I ignored it. There was an emergency! I ran up the stairs and threw back the large sliding door. I didn't see Christian.

"Hello?" I called a little out of breath.

Christian came out of the kitchen with something in his hand. He marched right up to me and waved it in front of my face. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

I stepped back so I could see what he was showing me. It was a piece of plastic, actually a pregnancy test. "Yeah," I said shooting him an odd look. "It's a-"

"I know what it is!" He shouted.

_"Did you call me here to show me a pregnancy test?!"_ I snapped at him.

His eyes were wide and a little crazy. "I found this in Mia's garbage bin."

"Why were you looking through her garbage?" I calmed down a bit.

"I wasn't!" He yelled and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I was moving her shit back into her room and I found it!" He said waving it around again.

"You need to chill." I said. "The vein in your neck is going to burst." I said pointing towards his neck.

"Do you have any idea what this means!" He began to pace. "It means she's had _sex_, which mean's she let some guy stick his-"

"Relax!" I screamed. I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch where I shoved him onto it. "You called me here to tell me that Mia had sex!" I yelled at him. "I ran out of a bridal store wearing _this,_" I removed my jacket and that was when he actually noticed what I was wearing. I actually saw him cringe. "And you're showing

me a freaking pregnancy test!" I was actually a little mad at myself for being worried about Christian. Snatching the test out of his hands, I glanced at it and rolled my eyes. "Besides it's negative, you… you… urg…" I couldn't come up with anything substantial to call him.

"It is?" He said grabbing it again and looking at the little pink sad face.

"You didn't even check it?"

"I did, but it's so cryptic."

"It's a sad face, what else could it mean?"

"Well it could mean, _Opps you just got screwed." _He said tilting the test.

I rolled my eyes. "It's more like, _Try again next time."_

He looked up at me. "But still!" He growled. "She can't have sex!"

"Why not?"

"Because...!"

"Christian, she's eighteen. She can move to Amsterdam and become a prostitute if she wants."

He looked shocked. "But she wouldn't do that, right?"

I was ready to pull out my hair or his. "I'm going home."

"No wait!" He said grabbing my arm. "How old were you when you had sex?"

I pulled my arm away from him. "I swear if I had mace right now…"

"I'm serious."

"Twenty one." I said.

"Really twenty one?" He asked. I glared. "You never had sex in high school?"

I was growing hot. "I only went to high school for one year, and I was wearing forearm crutches. I wasn't the hottest girl in school, okay?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Sorry."

I balled my fists. "Sorry? Sorry for what? Sorry I wasn't the hottest girl in school?"

"No," He said calmer now. "Sorry you were unhappy."

Shifting I sighed and sat down next to him. "Yeah well… it was a long time ago. How old were you when you had sex?"

"Fifteen." He said.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're such a whore."

He chuckled. "Yeah I was. I thought breasts were the coolest things since _Gameboy_."

I laughed. "I guess you can't say anything about Mia."

I watched him frown. "But she looks like she's twelve sometimes."

"You're acting like her brother, and I think it's sweet."

Right then I noticed how close we were. My face was tipped towards his, and he was slightly forward as if waiting for me to kiss him. Was he? No… I'd learned my lesson. Being rejected twice wasn't exactly on my to do list. But I could feel Christian's breath on my lips. It was making my hands shake. Why wasn't he saying anything? My eyes stared unblinking into his, and I swear I saw his eyes flicker to my lips. My lungs stopped working and my heart began to work faster. He wasn't actually… No… I waited. Waited for anything.

Then…

The front door slid open and Mia strolled in.

Christian let go of me and turned to her. He froze, so did I. Bella zoomed in and immediately jumped onto my lap. I broke out of my trance and stroked her hairless skin. "Hey," Mia stood a few feet away looking at both of us, she looked a little nervous. "Look Christian, I came back to say I was sorry for throwing a plate at you. I was being childish."

He didn't hear her. He was too busy glaring. "You…" He growled.

She looked confused. "Me?"

Suddenly he jumped up. I bit my lip knowing he was about to make a complete fool of himself. "You want to elaborate on this?" He said thrusting the pregnancy test into her hands.

She looked down at it and sighed. 'You went through my garbage?!" I could tell she was no longer sorry.

"I didn't go through it!" He shouted. "That's not the point!"

"What is the point?" She asked, and even I wondered what it was.

"The point is, you… you're… this is freaking the shit out of me!"

She blinked at him. "I don't get it. What's the big deal?"

He actually staggered back as if she'd hit him. "So you are knocked up! I knew it!" He turned to me. "I was right about the sad face."

Mia rolled her eyes. "You're so stupid sometimes, and I'm leaving... again. I actually thought _you _deserved an apology."

When she turned Christian grabbed her hand. "Okay listen to me for a second." He tried to free herself but he wouldn't let her. "I know I'm going apeshit. Look, you… I don't really know what to do with you." She only blinked up at him. "I mean, you're not nine anymore. You're not this sick little girl anymore that I can buy gifts for to make me feel better about my shitty life. You're just different now, and you don't need me anymore." They were having a heart to heart and I felt like I shouldn't be there. But I continued to watch with Bella on my lap. "So you're going to leave and I'm going to go back to my boring shitty life. But I get it, I can't tell you what to do. You're your own person." Then Christian let go of her hand.

Mia looked amazed and a little sad. Her large round eyes were filling up with tears and her bottom lip trembled. "You're so stupid…" She mumbled. Christian lowered his head and shrugged. "I do all this for you Christian." He looked up confused. "I should be dead. But I'm not and that's because of you."

"Mia…"

"No," She said wiping her eyes. "Do you realize if your dad hadn't been in the same hospital as me, I'd be dead. I'd have been dead for eight years now. And I think about that all the damn time. I think about it when I'm watching a movie. I think, 'Wow, I might not have seen that if 'Christian hadn't saved my life'. Or have the friends that I have. I wouldn't have met them. I wouldn't have met you. I would just be dead. And that scares me."

Holy crap… I felt so awkward. Christian looked even worse. He didn't know what to say.

She pushed her hair from her head. "And I think about all the other kids you didn't help because maybe you weren't in the right place at the right time. I mean, what did I do to deserve to live. What about your dad? Why didn't he live? It's not exactly fair… So I worked my ass off to get into Harvard so you'd be proud of me. I'm trying to prove that I'm not totally worthless."

Oh jeez, I was going to cry. I think Bella was too.

Christian raked his hand through his hair. "Mia…" I saw him bite his lip. "I am proud of you. I'm always proud of you. And you don't have to prove anything. For Christ's sake Mia you helped me more than I ever helped you. You were the first person who ever loved me for just… me… Why don't we just start over and say we're squared. I gave you my bone marrow and you gave me some love. We cool?" He held out his hand and waited. Mia looked down at it then back up. She ignored his hand and crushed herself right against him.

I wiped my own tears and stood up. "You know," Mia said with her face pressed against his chest. "You are the best brother a girl can have." Smiling I began to back up. I gave a little wave to Christian who was rubbing Mia's back.

"No, stay." He mouthed to me.

I shook my head and waved again. I left wearing my ugly pink dress with a small smile on my lips.

* * *

><p>That damn fortune was staring up at me from the kitchen table. I couldn't even bring myself to touch it. It was just there accusing me. <em>You ARE in love. <em>I wasn't! I wasn't in love with anybody. And if I was, which I'm not, the only person who I'd be in love with would be Christian. Itwouldn't be Ethan. But Christian! I hardly knew him. All I knew was that he draws and paints, and he smokes, and… he is good at kissing, eventhough he doesn't want to kiss me.

I rolled my eyes and left the kitchen. Stupid fortune couldn't tell me anything! I was going to take a nice hot bath and do nothing all afternoon. It was going to be bliss.

I have no idea how long I was in the bath. Probably a few hours. I kept adding more hot water as the temperature went down. It was so peaceful. The phone rang three times but I ignored it. It was probably just Elizabeth trying to annoy me with more wedding details. With a nice long sigh, I closed my eyes again and drifted into a peaceful lazy state.

All of a sudden, the door to the bathroom burst open. I jolted and screamed. It was Christian! I caught his surprised look just as he slipped on the bathmat and tumbled to the floor.

_What the fuck!_

"Christian!" I screamed while gripping the edge of the tub. "What the fuck?"

Christian looked up at me from the floor. "You need to answer the phone when it rings."

"Get out! I'm naked!"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll peek later."

I grabbed a shampoo bottle and held it above my head, while covering my chest with the other. "I'm going to hit you in five seconds. Five…"

"No wait!" He held up his hands. "This tux is rented!"

"Why are you wearing a tux?" I asked. "Four…"

"Because we're going to a wedding."

"What? Three…"

"I called you, left a message. We're going to a wedding."

"Two…" I glared.

"Okay, okay, okay." He said standing up. I tightened the hand around my chest. I watched as he took out a folded piece of paper and hand it to me. I had to put down the bottle to grab it. When I did he turned around to give me privacy. I looked at the paper. It was a newspaper.

Christian had ripped out an article about some rich guy's daughter getting married to some other rich guy's son. "Okay…" I mumbled.

"Well, get dressed."

"Why are we going?"

"I thought crashing a wedding was on your list?"

I looked up and stared at the back of his head. He was smirking, I'd bet my life on it. "Now?"

"Right now."

"Fine…" I mumbled, but actually felt thrilled. "Hand me the towel from behind the door."

Christian grabbed it, but instead of handing it to me he just held it open and waited. I paused, was he serious. I reached up to grab it but he pulled it away, with that smirk on his face. "I dare you." He said simply while still holding out the towel.

My cheeks flushed deeply. _But he dared me_… Keeping my eyes on his I stood up slowly, completely naked. Christian's eyes never left mine. For a second we both stood as if challenging each other, then I snatched the towel from him and wrapped it around my body. "Not bad." He said.

"Shut up, Christian." I said pulling the plug from the drain. Secretly I was also smirking.

I changed in my closet as Christian wandered around my room. I don't know why it didn't bother me that he was poking at my stuff. I almost wanted him too. When I came out of the closet in a black satin strapless dress Christian smiled. "I like it." He was going through my jewelry box.

He held up a necklace and motioned for me to join him. I walked over and stood in front of the vanity. I watched his reflection as he went behind me and picked up my hair. I held it above my head as he wrapped the necklace around my neck. It was a simple thin chain with a small gold locket hanging from it.

"It looks good on you." He said standing in front of me.

I fingered it gently. "My mom gave it to me when I was five. And its the only thing of hers that I still have. I wanted to wear it but I was too scared to loose it. I still am." I opened it to show him the small picture of my mother inside. She was wearing a large straw hat with a sunflower on it. "Her name was Carla, and she loved flowers."

"She died?" Christian asked quietly.

"No, she did worse."

Christian looked perplexed but didn't ask anything.

"She abandoned me." we both were quite for a moment. Then, Christian tilted the locket towards him and narrowed his eyes at it. "Well...she's beautiful." He said after a moment, I smiled. "You look a lot like her."

My smile brightened. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," Christian nodded. "Same eyes. Too big, just like yours."

"Now my eyes are too big? What about my nose?"

"Too small." He answered and I immediately touched it. He laughed and moved my hand. "You're face is all wrong, but it only makes you more beautiful." He took a step back but I wished he hadn't. "You'll be ready in twenty minutes?" He asked.

I nodded because I'd forgotten how to use words.

"Great. I'll wait." He said as he left the room, locking the door on his way out.

I stood there for a moment looking at my completely imperfect face and suddenly liked it more than I ever had.

The wedding of Portia and Richard Mackenzie was taking place at St. Thomas Church right downtown. There were so many people it was surprisingly easy to get into. Christian and I sat near the back on the bride's side as we watched, from a far, the couple get married. We didn't particularly care about the couple. We were enjoying ourselves as we made fun of old ladies hats. Christian said that one woman wearing a purple bonnet reminded him of his great Aunt Maggie who used to pat his butt whenever he walked by. I was trying my hardest not to make too much noise.

Afterward we got in a cab and asked the driver to follow a bunch of the cars to the reception. I was having so much fun. The venue was gorgeous. It looked like a dream. Christian mentioned that her mother had bigger parties on her birthday. We had some good luck when we overheard the wedding planner talking about how a couple by the name of Dr. and Mrs. Griswold weren't arriving. Christian jumped in and explained that he was the amazing Dr. Griswold and I was his little wife, Mrs. Griswold

"Oh, this is marvelous!" Exclaimed the wedding planner. "Come right this way." He lead us through the venue as people were getting settled to one of the tables near the back.

Our names were on little nametags sitting in the middle of our plates. Well, our fake names. "Harold?" Christian said as he picked up his. "Do I look like a Harry to you?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Do I look like a Bernadette?" I smiled.

"Not even a little. This is going to suck if we get caught."

All of a sudden, a group of old folk came over to the table and sat down. "Well, hello there." Said a jolly looking man. "Surely you can't be a doctor?" He asked with a large smile on his face. His wife slid in next to him. She was frail looking with watery blue eyes.

"He's a doctor, I'm his wife Bernadette." I said politely shaking the man's hand.

"Harry Griswold." Christian said doing the same.

The man's face brightened. "You're that gynecologist!"

Christian choked a little on the water he was sipping. I had to bite my tongue to stop from laughing. "Yeah, that's me." Christian mumbled.

"You're so young." Said the woman, eyeing Christian head to toe.

I could tell Christian was desperately trying to come up with something. "I… ah… drink a lot of vegetable juice. It stops the hair from falling out."

The man let out a hearty laugh and slapped Christian on the back. "Very good my boy. Very good. My name is Arthur P. Harrington, and this is Martha." We all exchanged handshakes again just as the bride and groom entered.

While everyone was clapping and cheering over them I leaned towards Christian and whispered, "You're very smooth, Dr. Griswold."

"Same to you, Mrs. Griswold." He said winking at me.

The party was amazing. Everyone was dancing and having a good time. There was an open bar and I had no problem refilling my glass. Christian danced with me, Arthur danced with me, and so did a guy named Allen who was trying his hardest to grab my ass.

"You're not married?" He asked as we danced very, very closely to each other.

"Sorry, taken. He's a doctor."

He frowned. "Well, I can pretend, can't I?" He wiggled his eyebrows, which freaked me out.

Christian came to my rescue thankfully. "Can I cut in?" He asked Allen-what's-his-face, who pouted then gave me up. Christian wrapped his hand around my waist and took the other. "Having fun?" He asked as he swept me through the other dancers. I had to say he looked quite handsome in his rented tux. All the black and white he was wearing made his eyes look greyer then I'd ever seen them. Or maybe I was a little drunk.

"I'm having the time of my life." I grinned.

"You look it." He said. "I like pretending to be someone else."

"We should do it more often."

He chuckled. "Yes, we should."

We slowed a little and Christian let go of my hand to touch my cheek. I shivered. He traced my jaw then curled his fingers around the back of my neck. "Ana…" He whispered. I swear all the sounds around me disappeared.

"Yes…" It sounded like a plea.

"Oh. My. God. _Christian!_" The mood was gone immediately as someone shouted behind us. There was a woman a few feet away. Christian had his back to her, but his eyes widened a little. "Christian is that you?" She asked.

Christian shut his eyes. "What does she look like?" He whispered to me.

"Brown hair, brown eyes I think. Abnormally large lips." I said as she moved to us with a martini in her hand.

Christian turned. "Hey, _mom._"

_Mom?_

"Oh Christian baby!" She crooned and grabbed his face. "Look at you!"

"I can't." He mumbled

"I knew how to make one good looking son!" She was wearing maybe a million gold bangles- that most probably were worth millions of dollars too- and they made annoying clinging sounds every time she moved. "This is just fantastic! I missed you!"

He sighed. "I'm sure you did."

Then she turned to me. "She's not Leila is she?"

I heard Christian sigh again. "No."

"What? You never got married?"

Christian's face was still captured between her hands. "No."

She rolled her eyes. "Thank the Gods!" she exclaimed loudly. "I always knew that she was a gold digger, that little bitch. Glad you realized it sooner rather than laters. Anyway, call me sometime, _darling. _We'll have brunch!_" _Then she air kissed Christian and simply disappeared back into the crowd.

When it was safe to say she was completely gone Christian turned to me. "That was my mother."

"Ahhh...She's seems… fun…"

"She's drunk. She's usually more insane."

I smiled. "All right then."

"Come on, let's get something to drink." He said pulling me away. I could tell he wasn't having as much fun as I was anymore.

* * *

><p>I was drunk.<p>

Completely, fully, totally, _unabridged._

I was chatting up the bartender, as he was very, very, very, attractive. I was trying to picture him naked when he came along with my champagne. "I bet your wondering who I am." I said to him slowly.

He smiled, but only politely. "Not really."

"Name's Bernie Griss-something. My husband is this amazingly attractive gynecologist. You probably think it's weird being married to a guy who knows more about your girly parts than you do."

"I wouldn't know. I don't have girly parts." He replied as he dried a glass.

"Well that your problem, Jeeves."

I spun on the barstool as I downed another glass. The dizzy sensation was great. I tried to stand up but practically fell to the floor. Of course, someone caught me, and that person was Dr. Griswold himself. "Hi." I said looking up at him.

"Hi." He said. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." I giggled.

"Not for long."

I only giggled like a… drunken person.

"You've had too much to drink." Christian said trying to straighten me.

"Yup, but it's his fault." I pointed to Jeeves. "He just kept giving me alcohol."

"And you kept drinking it. I think it's time I got you home."

"To our great big glass condo where all the famous doctors live?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

Christian helped me through the party and out onto the street where it was very cold. I was overheated so I didn't mind. The second we got into a cab I snuggled up to him like some cat in heat. It was pathetic how drunk I was. I don't really remember getting to the front door. Christian searched my purse for my keys as I slid to the ground. He managed to find them and unlock the door. "Come on," He said reaching down for me.

"Why don't you join me?" I said yanking him down so his lips met mine.

He pulled away quickly, and hoisted me up. I was like jelly in his arms. "You're drunk, Ana." He said pulling me into the apartment.

"I feel amazing." I said nibbling his jaw. "I can make you feel amazing too." I breathed against his ear. He groaned.

"Jesus Ana," He said pressing me against the wall. "You're drunk, you don't know what you're doing."

"I'm trying to kiss you, Christian. Why don't you want to kiss me?"

"Because you're impaired."

"I like it. And I like you." I leaned towards him but he leaned away. Before I could say something else stupid, he picked me up and carried me through the apartment. He tripped and moaned when I bit down on his ear, but managed to catch himself before we both went sprawling.

"Behave-" He managed before I fused my lips to his again. He stumbled into my bedroom and dropped me on the bed. He would have made a quick escape if I hadn't pulled him down with me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and flipped over so I was on top. My mouth was all over him. I reached down and grabbed his shirt. In one quick motion, I ripped it open causing the buttons to pop off.

Christian tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down. "I have to return this!" He cried.

I'd only seen Christian topless once and that's when he was all bruised. Now, in the dim glow of my bedroom he looked even more appealing. I met his lips again, but this time he didn't try and push me away. He was just as wild as I was. It was so exciting. I began to move down his throat, and placing kisses along his collarbone. I heard Christian's labored breathing. "Shit…" He mumbled. "I'm not doing this." He said.

I grinned against his flesh. "No, I'm going to do it."

"I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this." He repeated over and over and over again. Once he finally believed himself, he sat up and grabbed my arms. "I'm not doing this."

"Huh?"

He pushed me back against the pillows. "I want to do this right."

"Me too." I said not understanding him. "Me too."

"Go to sleep, Ana. Go to sleep."

"Me too…" I kept mumbling until the words made no sense and everything turned black."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN Sorry guys no sneak peak and replies today. I just started writing Chapter 11 and I'm running a bit behind the schedule because yesterday I was busy babysitting my three year old niece and she's 100X worse than Ava! Seriously LOL! **_

_**Anyways I hope you guys liked this chapter.**_

_**Another thing, Yes Ava is Kate and Elliot's daughter. And we will see Kate in the next chapter :)**_

_**So what was your favorite moment from this chapter? :) Let me know xx**_

_**Next Update- 13 January**_

_**Charlotte x **_


	11. Chapter 11: How could you?

**A/N FIFTY SHADES OF GREY AND ALL ITS CHARACTERS BELONGS TO Ms. JAMES. SADLY I OWN NOTHING.**

_**Warning**__**: Some of you might want to strangle me towards the end of this chapter. But remember this story is a HEA. So keep calm guys and don't hate me LOL. **_

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><p>"What's your most embarrassing moment?" I asked Elizabeth as I fiddled with a car part.<p>

We were both standing in front of a mechanic shop because my _oh-so trustworthy_ _Wanda_ died on us.

"Why?" She looked up at me curiously.

"Just wondering." I actually asked her mainly because I was hoping that her _most embarrassing moment_ will top mine.

It had been two weeks since I'd seen Christian and I was trying to determine whether that was a good or bad thing. I'm pretty sure it was a good thing. I don't know what I would have said to him after I woke up.

"I passed out drunk once." She said after a deep moment of thinking.

"When?"

"A few years ago. I was like _really_ drunk and I passed out on _this one_ pavement. "She said motioning her hands. "But what I _really_ don't understand is how I woke up in a dumpster instead. Like seriously? That was so _weird_!"

I rolled my eyes. That wasn't nearly as embarrassing as trying to rip off someone's clothes. "What is this?" I asked holding up what I'd been holding. It was a strange twisted tube with a weird looking cone on the other end. "It looks like something you'd find in a stag shop."

The Mechanic who was fixing my car looked up at me in irritation probably because I was messing around with his stuff for the past half an hour. He stood up and _politely_ grabbed it. With a sigh, he opened the hood and started rummaging around. "Actually it's an intake." He said putting it somewhere it obviously fit. The inside of a car always baffled me. It looked like a giant mess of metal and wires.

"What does it intake?" Elizabeth asked.

"Air." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The second he finished his sentence a bright red car pulled up and stopped. We both looked over at the passenger seat where a little girl was pressed against the glass, her eyes wide and unblinking. "Is that-"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh God!" Elizabeth groaned.

"Mommy!" She screamed inside the car to the woman sitting behind the wheel. "Look, look Anaaaaa!" Ava yelled.

The driver's seat opened and a very tall, leggy, blonde woman stepped out. She was wearing this killer pinstriped suit and zebra skinned shoes. I frowned at my clunky boots. She let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw us. "Oh thank God!" She said walking towards us. "My car is making this…" She struggled for the right words. "_Putt, putt, putt, putt _sound. You know what I mean?"

"No…" I mumbled.

"Yeah." The Mechanic said to her.

"Great! Can you fix it?"

"I can."

Ava was pounding her little fists on the glass. "Anaaaaa!" She called.

The woman turned to her daughter who was still screaming my name. Then she turned back to us. "You're Elizabeth?" She nodded. Then she looked at me. "So you're Ana?"

_This was interesting. _"And you are…" I said with a smile.

"Kate." She said as if it were the coolest thing she'd ever heard. "Ava can't stop talking about you guys. You especially." She said to me. Looking at Elizabeth she said, "She's right, you do look like a _strawberry tree_!"

Kate was the only one who laughed and that too at her own joke, as if she just cracked the best joke ever. Elizabeth on the other hand was shooting deathly glares at 'Kate' who didn't seem to notice. There was this strange silence that only Elizabeth and I noticed. Then she, Kate, heard Ava cry again and went to fetch her from her child seat. The second she was free she darted right to my me.

"Up!" She said pulling on my jeans. "Up!"

"Um..."

Laughing, Kate scooped her daughter up. "Sorry, she has no personal boundaries. You know Ana," She said and shifted Ava who was trying to reach for me. "I have the most perfect dress for your skin color."

_What? _"You… do?" _Did she know me or something?_

"Oh yes. It's gorgeous you must come to my studio some time and try it on."

_Who the hell was this woman?_ "I…"

"Great!" She said. "I have to go take this munchkin to daycare." She kissed Ava's cheek delicately. "When should I come back for the car?" She asked the Mechanic guy, whose name was _Jake-something._

"Around two." _Jake-something_ said with a small smile on his lips.

"Two, perfect." She turned around to leave but before that she said, "I'll see you tonight, Ana." _Tonight_?

"Um...okay?"

Kate smiled and Ava waved at me. "Bye Anaaaa!"

Okay...That was totally weird.

"Dude, stop drooling, and fix the damn car already!" Elizabeth snapped at _Jake-something_ when Kate disappeared out of our sight.

"It's lunch time! And I'm going!" He snapped at Elizabeth too.

"Come back tomorrow for your car!" He waved his hand at us and went away.

_Great_! Its gonna snow and now I'm CAR LESS thanks to this _strawberry tree_ _girl_ that I call my 'friend'!

I huffed in annoyance.

* * *

><p>I walked home even though it was snowing like crazy. I pulled on a bright orange hat hoping it would help warm my ears. It didn't.<p>

The only thing I thought about was what Kate had said. See you tonight? What was happening tonight? I didn't even know her. Maybe she confused me with someone else. That would explain why she offered me to try on a dress. I shrugged, hoping she was simply mistaken when I looked up at my building and saw Christian sitting on the snowy steps.

I spun on my heel to make a run for it. To where? I had no idea. I couldn't face him! I couldn't even think about it. Of course in my mid spin I slipped on some ice and went down, hard. I looked up at the steps hoping Christian hadn't seen me. Of course, he had. He was staring at me with one eyebrow raised. I wanted to die. When he stood up and came over to me, I stopped breathing.

"Are you okay?"

I only nodded and tried to get up. Christian helped me, which made me even more embarrassed. "Thanks…" I mumbled.

He used his gloved hands to straighten my cap. "Going hunting?" He smirked as he touched the bright orange material.

"Um… no." I was so embarrassed. What the hell was I supposed to say about jumping him? "What are you doing here?" I blurted.

"Visiting."

"Who?"

He shot me a confused look. "You."

Stupid. "Right."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"You don't look fine." He brushed the snow from my shoulders. All I wanted was for him to stop touching me.

"I am. Why are you visiting me?" I was being rude. I didn't want to be, but I couldn't help it.

Christian licked his bottom lip. "It's not a big deal. I'll go." He said gauging my mood.

I really was screwing up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Is this about after the wedding?" He asked bluntly.

Somehow, I made a weird noise in the back of my throat. What was I supposed to say to that without looking like a complete fool? Adverting my eyes I headed up the steps hoping he actually would go. He didn't. Instead, he followed me all the way up to my apartment. When I opened the door, I didn't go in.

"Christian, I…"

"Ana, don't worry about it."

I turned to him and noticed how close he was. "How can I not. I made a complete fool of myself."

He sighed. "You were drunk. I've done worse."

That wasn't exactly what I was talking about. I looked up at him and opened my mouth to speak when he cupped my face and pressed his lips against mine. It was softer than I thought possible for someone like him. His eyes were slightly open and looking directly into my wide ones. Then I let them flutter when I felt my pulse beat against his thumb. His lips moved slowly against mine, and they were impossibly soft on the inside.

My hands lay against my side bunched into a fist while his threaded themselves through my hair. When he tipped my head up and pressed his lips harder against mine, I thought that I'll die for sure. Christian's hands felt wonderful running through my hair. His lips still slide silkilyagainst my own. When he pulled away I drifted slowly back to reality. When my eyes opened, he was looking down at me with soft eyes.

"Better than cigarettes." He breathed against my mouth.

I was practically panting. Christian had actually kissed me. I had that sort of giddy feeling, like when I once swallowed an entire package of pop rocks. "Why'd you do that?" Was all I could say.

He still had my face between his hands. "I couldn't think of a reason not to anymore."

Could I? I didn't know. I'd been wrestling with the idea for the past two weeks. "Maybe it's not a good idea." I said, even thought I really didn't want to. The rational part of my mind had clicked on, unfortunately.

"Probably not." He agreed but didn't let go of me.

I suddenly realized we were still standing at the threshold of my apartment. I moved away and walked inside. When I heard the door close behind Christian I turned. "It just that I'm really horrible in relationships." When he didn't say anything I continued. "I can never tell people stuff, except you. And that's a little scary."

He came towards me and I felt my skin grow warm. "I quit smoking." He said running a hand through my hair. "All I can think about is smoking and you." He brushed his hand over my shoulder and played with the ends of my hair. "I have this picture of you holding a cigarette in my mind. It's driving me insane." He leaned down to kiss me again, this time it was shorter, but I still felt the heat. "I'm really bad at relationships too. I usually screw up, but let's not think about that now. I just want to kiss you."

We kissed slowly for minutes, or maybe it was hours. I actually felt shy. I'd never felt shy with Ethan. But of course Christian wasn't Ethan. With his lips on mine, I couldn't even remember who Ethan was.

Suddenly Christian broke away and looked down at his watch. He cursed loudly and raked his fingers through his hair. "I have to go."

"What?" I blinked.

"I have to go." He repeated. "I'm sorry. Look, come with me tonight to Mia's dance thing."

"Dance thing?"

"Yeah she has a performance tonight. Come with me."

I nodded and bit my lip. "All right."

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "Wear something pretty."

I was ready to explode, so I only nodded again. When he left I touched my lips and started to laugh.

* * *

><p>Who new I could have so much fun watching The Nutcracker. I never got to see it as a kid, so this was huge for me. It also didn't hurt that I had my fingers curled in Christian's hand. It felt good to be with him that way. To know he liked me the same way I liked him. There were still butterflies in my stomach when I was around him, but this time they felt good.<p>

Mia looked great. When I was younger I wanted to be a ballerina, but it never happened. Turns out that it's really hard to dance when you don't have control over your legs. I doubted I would be any good anyway. I watched her jump and leap around in front of everyone and admired her for not freaking out. I'd probably cry if I ever had to stand in front of a crowed room.

When I looked over at Christian, he didn't look as I thought he would. I expected him to be smiling in that smooth way he usually did, but instead he was just watching. He looked as if he were somewhere else, thinking deep thoughts.

I squeezed his hand, which made him look over at me. He offered a smile then turned back to the dancers.

Was something wrong?

During intermission, Christian didn't want to leave his seat. I on the other hand went to get something to drink.

"Ana!" Someone said and came up beside me. It was Kate, looking incredibly beautiful yet again. "How are you? Enjoying yourself?"

I smiled and sipped my ice tea. "Great. This is the first time I've seen The Nutcracker."

She laughed. "I've seen it every year and lemme tell you it never gets old!"

I just laughed. "Mia is looking great today."

"Yeah she is. Care for some company?"

I smiled, "Sure."

"I just wanted something to buy for El-"She froze for a moment as she saw someone coming behind me.

"Oh Lord! Here comes the _gold digger_." Kate muttered to herself with a frown on her face. Just as she said, a very pretty girl with long thick brown hair came out of the crowd with a big smile on her face. When she got close I noticed how hugely pregnant she was.

"Oh look! Who joined the party!" Kate exclaimed loudly and sarcastically. "I thought you must be in hospital popping the baby out by now."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Kate, _darling_." She replied to Kate in the same tone as hers.

"You still haven't changed a bit Leila." Kate sneered.

"Same old, same old."

My skin turned to ice. Did she say…

_Leila_ looked at me with _oh-so_ 'warm' eyes and waited for Kate to introduce us.

"This is Ana." She said pointing to me. I watched Leila's expression change slightly. She'd obviously heard about me, just as I'd heard about her. "And this is _Leila_." Kate finished.

We exchanged polite hellos, but the tension was so thick. Kate looked at me like she wanted to snatch my hand and bolt out of here. "I've heard only _good_ things about you." She said in a deathly sweet voice, which was quite frankly creepy.

I couldn't exactly say the same back. "Oh… thank you."

When the bell dinged to tell everyone the show was about to start I was relieved. I said my goodbyes and hurried to leave. But I wasn't fast enough...

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I heard Kate snap at her as soon as I turned my back.

"I'm Mia's teacher. I'm SUPPOSED to be HERE! In case, you forgot."

"Just stay away from _them_. Understood?"

I didn't heard her reply. I walked as fast as I can taking into consideration that I was wearing heels.

Christian was absently flipping through the program when I sat down. "Didn't bring me any _Smarties_?" He grinned. I tried to grin back but it was difficult. Did he know she was here? Was that why he asked me to go along? I frowned a little even when Christian's hand found mine again.

After everything was over and we gave a standing ovation, I wasn't surprised to find that Christian wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Won't Mia want to see us?" I asked as he pulled me down the stairs.

He shook his head. "No, she's going to an after party with her _teachers_ and friends."

He knew _she_ was there. He knew it. I felt the giddy feeling evaporate.

We hurried down the stairs. The front door was just around the corner… then BAM! There they were. We both had been trying to round the same corner, only to meet in the middle. Leila was standing with a handsome man with light brown hair and soft blue eyes. They were widened in shock just as ours were.

Nobody said anything.

Then Christian grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. I managed to catch up with him. He was walking very fast and at this rate, I would fall face down for sure.

"Christian stop!" I shouted, my voice angry. When he didn't I jerked my hand away from him. He stopped and looked down at me.

_"How could you?" _I screamed. The rage inside me was bubbling. He only invited me because of her.

"How could I what?"

"You knew she was going to be here? Didn't you?" I growled, but he didn't say anything. "_Oh my God_! You invited me because you didn't want to look pathetic going alone!"

"That's not true at all!" He said back and reached for my arm. I pulled it away sharply. "Ana…"

"I can't believe I thought… You still love her, don't you?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't."

"_Dammit Christian_, you do! You invited me because you're in love with a married pregnant woman! I'm so fucking stupid! I thought you… and me…"

"Yes, Ana." He said grabbing my shoulders. "I want to be with you."

"You used me." I said as my eyes filled with tears. "You knew how I felt and you used me. You kissed me, and I thought it was because you felt the same way." I pulled away from him and pushed my palms into my eyes. I felt so completely stupid.

"I do feel the same way." He said calmly.

"Shut up." I spat. "I thought you were different."

"I am…"

"You're exactly the same everyone else. Only thinking about yourself." I turned quickly and walked away praying he wouldn't follow me.

This time he didn't.

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><p><em><strong>AN I don't know if you guys know this or not but this one TROLL blatantly plagiarized this story word to word and had it posted yesterday. I had her reported, sent her a PM asking her to remove the story. BUT AS OF NOW REPLY! I have been on this fandom for quite some time (almost two years now) even before I created this account and I know how that troll copies stories of other authors. It's really disheartening to see that the chapters you worked so hard for being copy and pasted on other accounts. I was really disappointed that she still hasn't removed the story or anything. **_

_**I know this chapter started on a cheery note and got all depressed towards the end, and this was the reason. I can't do much to get that story removed. All my attempts have been in a vain.**_

_**Don't worry though, I'll complete this story for sure. But I'm not sure if I will ever post another story here after this one ends. I don't want to sound so low and gloomy but it really feels bad when all your efforts and hardwork are being stolen so blatantly. I'm a college girl. I have a life like everyone. I have a million things to do like all of you do but despite that I make sure that I update my stories on time, interact with all of you (Even though sometimes I can't PM you all) but I make sure that each and everyone is included and thanked at the end of a chapter. I want you all to know how much I really appreciate your review and your opinions. They are what encourage me to write more. I can ignore anonymous reviewers who write crap about me and my story but I can't ignore someone copying and pasting this story and credit this as their own. And that too so shamelessly! But well what's done is done. I know that troll probably did it in hopes that I'll remove this story but that will never happen. **_

_**I know many of you must be disappointed by this chapter (I myself am) but I promise you guys will just LOVE LOVE LOVE chapter 12.**_

_**Another thing, as a treat to all my lovely readers I will post Chapter 12 tomorrow. Same again this time. I know you guys must have a bucket load of questions regarding this chapter...you can review me or PM me! **_

_**Sorry another important thing, I'm in the process of making a Pinterest page for this story. I'll let you know when it's up. **_

_**Thank you all for reading Love Blooms. **_

_**Charlotte x**_


	12. Chapter 12: Moan with me

_**A/N ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO E L JAMES. I'M JUST A FANGIRL WITH A VERY IMAGINATIVE IMAGINATION.**_

_**With this chapter I'm changing the story rating from T to M.**_

_**Another thing, this story is half finished already guys! *sniffles* I'm aiming for something 24ish chapter with an epilogue MAYBE in CPOV.**_

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><p><span><strong>CHAPTER- 12: Moan with me<strong>

_Girl's night in._

Those three words were sacred in the feminine world. They were probably more sacred to me since I rarely had them.

"Pass me the chocolate." Hannah said from my couch. Elizabeth threw the bag at her absently while she flipped through a bridal magazine. It was official, she was obsessed. She grinned and held up the book for Hannah to see. "No," She said with a roll of her eyes.

Elizabeth groaned. "You've said that for every single dress."

"They're all ugly." Hannah shrugged.

I watched them from the cozy plush chair by the window. It was almost Christmas. Only five more days. Was it normal to feel so… guilty this close to one of the best holidays? I bit my lip. I was too hard on Christian. I overreacted. Or maybe I didn't. Maybe he was just using me. Maybe I was right for not returning any of his eight phone calls.

"This one is gorgeous!" Elizabeth yelled. Hannah only shook her head.

"Maybe I should call him." I announced from where I was.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You can't even _consider _it before the tenth call."

I wasn't just biting my lip; I was all but gnawing a hole through it. "But-"

"No buts," She said sternly while flipping her pink hair out of her face. "That's the rule. Trust me, I've done this before."

Hannah giggled. "You would have." The only response was Elizabeth showing Hannah _the finger _at her.

The phone began to ring loudly through the apartment. We all froze. I reached for it, but Elizabeth hissed. "Don't!" She said waving her hand. "Let the answering machine get it.

We waited patiently for it to ring. All the while, I was fidgeting nervously. Did I really want to talk to him? I was mad, but not as much as before. I didn't even give him a chance to explain. After the fifth ring, the sound of my voice filled the room. _"Hi, this is not the person you are trying to call! Please check the number!"_

_*BEEP*_

"_Ana?" _Christian's voice came through the phone. "Your answering machine stopped being cute five calls ago."

We all exchanged looks.

"Come on. I know you're there. You're probably just sitting around with your friends. Right? Well if you are, then, hi Ana's friends."

"Hi." Hannah called back.

"Just let me explain. I've been thinking about you since the last twenty four hours, Ana. I bought you flowers, but I figured you didn't need them since you owned a flower shop." I could just picture him running his fingers through his hair with a frustrated scowl on his face. I cursed myself for finding that image attractive. "Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. The dog ate them, and then threw up all over the place. I guess that's karma, or…something." He let out a small moan. "Answer the phone. Let's talk."

"Don't pick it up." Elizabeth growled.

I heard Christian sigh and pause. "I bet you wouldn't want your friends to know what you tried to do to me while you were drunk…" My eyes widened as Hannah and Elizabeth shot their gazes at me. "Especially the part about how you ripped-"

In one swift motion, I grabbed the phone and pressed the TALK button before he could humiliate me even more. "Stop calling me!" I hissed into the phone.

"Wait!" He cried. "Ana, hold on. Don't hang up."

"You have ten seconds." I said tapping my finger against a cushion.

"I need more time then that!" He said desperately. "Ah… I'm sorry. You're right, I did invite you so I wouldn't look alone. Because I hate being alone. But I wasn't lying when I kissed you. I always want to kiss you. I… I think I love you."

_Dur, dur, dur… what?_

In complete shock mode, I freaked out and pressed END. Then I threw the phone as if it were a hot potato. It soared across the living room and hit wall with a loud clatter.

_What? _What the hell was he talking about? Love me? Me? I had to take a large breath.

Elizabeth and Hannah were still staring at me. "That was weird." Hannah decided.

Pushing my messy hair out of my face, I blew out a shaky breath. I was ordering myself not to think about Christian. "Hey, do you want to cut my hair?" I asked at random. They continued to stare at me. "Because I've been thinking about cutting it for a long time, you think it's a good idea?"

They exchanged looks.

Since I was in a mood, I stood up quickly. "Fine, I'll do it." I honestly can't say why I wanted to cut my hair so badly. It just seemed like something to do that wouldn't have any connection to Christian or what he said. I marched into the kitchen and grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer.

When I went back to the living room Hannah was watching me carefully. "This probably isn't a good idea." She said carefully.

I waved her off. "Don't worry about it." I said facing the mirror by the door. I gathered my almost waist-length hair, lifted the scissors and…

_SNIP._

* * *

><p>It took us twenty-five bucks and lots of shouting at the cabbie to find <em>Snips<em>. Mia had mentioned the salon the first time we met. I threw my money at the man and jumped out of the car. I was praying they weren't closed since it was late. With my ruined hair tucked under my bright orange hat, I pulled on the fancy glass doors. They were locked. I actually felt my heart leap. _"No, no, no, no, no." _I mumbled as Elizabeth and Hannah came up behind me.

"Don't worry," Hannah, said putting a hand on my shoulder. "We can go somewhere else."

"Or," Elizabeth added. "You could just walk around looking like Courtney Love."

I gapped at her. "I think I'm gonna cry."

Just then, someone appeared at the door causing all of us to jump. He was a dark colored, good-looking man who was eyeing us suspiciously. "We just closed." He said (_in an obvious fake "Italian" accent)_ through the glass. I was about to open my mouth when Elizabeth reached up and ripped the cap off my head, letting my hair fall in front of my face. The man actually slapped a hand on his chest and hissed in disgust. He quickly unlocked the door and ushered us inside before anybody could see my hideousness.

"What have you done to yourself?" He asked as he dragged me towards a chair.

"I cut it…" I mumbled.

He spun me around to face the mirror and I finally got a really good look at what I'd done. My hair was about shoulder length, something I hadn't seen in about fifteen years. One side was longer than the other, and the bottom was all jagged and chopped. I think I had a little mental breakdown.

"Are you a professional?" He asked.

"Um… no." I muttered.

He let out a frustrated groan as he ran his fingers through my hair. "I can fix this." He said after a moment. "You're going to be bowing down to me when I'm done."

I shifted in the seat and looked over at Hannah and Elizabeth who were sitting by the window. Elizabeth had found a wedding magazine and was completely absorbed. Hannah on the other hand was picking at her nails while she went through The New Yorker.

"Mia told me to tell you that she sent me here." I told him as I started to relax. It was okay; he was going to fix me.

"You know Mia? Isn't she the sweetest thing?" He cooed then stopped. "Wait, you're not Ana, right?"

"Um… yes?" I wasn't sure if it was okay to be Ana or not?

"This is so exciting! I've heard so much about you! I'm Franco by the way."

Why was it that everyone knew me? "What things have you heard?

"Things about you being Christian's girlfriend."

I bit my lip trying desperately not to let my mind wander to Christian. I was going to freak myself out again. "We're not… together."

He shot me a weird look. "Why not? That man is practically sex on a stick!"

I thought about what sex on a stick would actually look like. It was a little disturbing. "I guess."

"And he has all that hair! And those grey eyes!"

Sure, he did have those amazingly gorgeous eyes. "Yeah…" I only mumbled.

"So why aren't you two… together?"

_Because I don't understand anything about him._

I shrugged. "I don't know. We're just not."

He looked down at me through the mirror. "Ah… you mad at him?"

I crossed my arms. "Maybe a little."

"What'd he do?"

"He used me to show up his ex-girlfriend."

"Who? Leila?" He laughed loudly. "Darling, technically they never dated."

I practically threw up my arms. "Why is it that everyone knows more than I do?" He rolled his eyes.

"And by the way, how do you know _me_?" I asked him.

"Ah...Mia works here! I am her boss. She told me how Christian invited you home and gave you his number."

Noticing my frown Franco explained, "Its just that he never brings a girl home and sure as hell don't give out numbers to girls he just met."

* * *

><p>I cannot possibly describe how amazing my hair looked. It barely touched my shoulders and I now had beautiful sweeping side bangs. I tucked it behind my ear and grinned at my reflection. Because my hair wasn't as long it curled at the ends. Something I'd always wanted as a kid.<p>

Even Hannah got her hair done. She'd gotten highlights, which she said she always wanted.

"_Thank you, thank you, thank you." _I cried and threw my arms around my new friend Franco. "I look really, really…"

"Hot." Elizabeth supplied without even looking up from her magazine.

"Yeah, hot." I mumbled. "I bet this cost a fortune though."

Franco rolled his eyes. "Naw, it's on the house."

"_For real?" _I asked wide-eyed.

He shrugged. "Yeah, just don't cut your own hair again. I won't be so nice next time."

Smiling I hugged him again. "Deal."

I left the salon in a much better mood. Christian was still somewhere in the back of my mind, but I pushed it even further back as we walked down fifth avenue. When Elizabeth's phone buzzed, she pulled it out and giggled.

"I bet it's her husband to be." Hannah muttered.

Elizabeth looked up, eyes wide. "I have to go." She said trying to contain her excitement. "And Hannah has to come with me."

I raised my eyebrow at her. We were supposed to stay up all night and get drunk.

"What about the sleepover?" Hannah whined.

Elizabeth grabbed her arm. "Can't tonight. I need your help with that… thing."

Hannah was looking at her as if she had three heads. "What are you talking about?"

"Hannah." She said sternly. "That… thing I was telling you about, which we have to go do at this very moment."

I shot Hannah a weird look. "Are you okay Liz?" I asked.

"I'm fine!" She said with a little giggle. "Come on Hannah."

"I still don't understand what you're talking about." While I stood there baffled, Elizabeth leaned towards Hannah and whispered something in her ear. I strained my neck to hear her, but couldn't. When Elizabeth straightened, Hannah had a surprised look on her face. "Oh…" She said remembering. "That thing… We have to do it now."

I was feeling very left out. "What thing?"

"Nothing. It's just… nothing. We'll see you later, Ana." Elizabeth linked arms with Hannah and they strolled away whispering. They obviously knew something I didn't.

So, I walked home feeling all sorts of things. I felt amazing because of my hair, but I felt confused because of Elizabeth and Hannah. Then there was the whole, I think I love you bullshit. How could he just say that to me over the damn phone? Men were such jerks.

As I got home, I fully expected to see Christian sitting on the front steps. I actually braced myself for it as I turned the corner. But thankfully he wasn't. I could breath easily again. I went up the stairs and all the way up to my apartment. This time I didn't find my door broken in. The second I got in I checked my messages hoping Christian hadn't called a million times. He hadn't. Everything seemed good until…

I went down the hallway and into my bedroom where I literally almost had a heart attack.

Christian was painting my walls. He was standing on a ladder near my bed as he delicately painted. He'd only managed to paint half a wall but it looked amazing. It was flowers. Colorful flowers. They look very old fashioned since my walls were a pale yellow color. He was currently painting a very tall skinny cherry blossom tree and humming while he did it. His back was to me so he had no idea I'd just walked in on him, plus he was listening to the iPod stuck in his back pocket. He continued to hum away while he painted. I'd never really pegged Christian for a hummer.

I didn't exactly know what to do. I wanted to run and never come back, but that wouldn't make sense. Instead, I just watched him for a while. I liked Christian in a tux, but I liked him even more wearing nothing but paint splattered jeans and an old washed out shirt. He stopped every few minutes to inspect what he'd done. Sometimes he'd scratch his head and push his hair out of his face.

When he turned his head, he barely noticed me. Then he did a double take and nearly fell off his ladder. He pulled the headphones out of his ear and threw it down onto my bed. "Ana…" He said a little embarrassed. "Your hair…"

I suddenly hated it, but resisted the urge to reach up to touch it. "What are you doing?" I asked coldly.

He came down from the ladder and placed his palette and brush on the ground. "I owe you a big apology." He said gesturing around himself.

"You can't break into my house and paint my walls, Christian."

"I didn't break in. Elizabeth left me the key under the welcome mat."

_She did? _Oh God, that's why she took Hannah. She knew he was in my apartment. "You were texting her?"

He nodded awkwardly. I didn't know what to say, but Christian spoke first. "If you don't like it, I can just-"

"Christian…" I sighed. "I'm mad at you. I don't want to see you. You can't just paint flowers on my wall and make it better."

"Why not?"

"Because things just don't work like that."

"No, because you won't let me apologize. I've called you a dozen times, and you haven't answered. How the hell am I going to tell you how sorry I am if you wont talk to me?"

"I don't want you to apologize!" Our voices were rising. "I just want you to leave me alone!"

"For how long?"

"How about forever." I said with a sneer.

He stopped, and his eyes lost their hardness. I felt like a real jerk. He slowly picked up all his things, his brushes and paint, along with the plastic he'd laid out to protect the floor. He shoved them into a bag, which he slung over his shoulder then folded up the ladder. I stopped him just as he was about to walk out of the room by placing my hand on his chest. He glanced down at me.

"I didn't mean what I said." I told him.

"And I didn't mean what I said on the phone. I guess we're even." He said as he left my room.

* * *

><p>Ethan was snoring next to me. I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. Another successful night…<p>

I made my way out of his bed and into the bathroom where I managed to get dressed. The dress I wore had the most complicated strap things in the back. It took me literally twenty minutes to figure it out. It was a total waste since Ethan practically ripped it off without admiring my accomplishment.

When I made my way back to his bedroom to get my shoes I spotted the money on the nightstand. I stared at it for a while, knowing I was going to take it, even though I didn't need it. What if I didn't take it? What if I just left and never came back. It would be like starting over. I wouldn't have to be someone else, or dress up for nothing. I could just be me, just be Ana.

Reaching down, I almost touched the money, and then pulled back. I didn't need it; I didn't even want it.

Smiling a little, I grabbed my shoes and padded out of the room. It was dark save for the large fish tank by the door. I stopped by the glass and stared at the fish. Even though Ethan always reminded me not to tap on the glass, I did. Poor fish, I thought. It must be terribly boring having nothing to do all day, other than swimming in circles. But of course fish have a very short memory, and probably don't care.

So I left. I left holding on to whatever dignity I had left. It probably wasn't much.

I decided not to walk home, even though it was a nice evening. If I walked home, I would have time to think. Thinking was the last thing I wanted to do. Otherwise, thoughts of Christian would fill my head and make me feel like crap. I wasn't even all that angry about the other night at the ballet. I acted childish, but I felt even worse for yelling at him in my room. I didn't deserve an apology, but he still gave me one. I just felt so stupid every time I thought about it.

When the cab turned the corner onto my street, I saw a figure standing at the door to my apartment building. I held my breath thinking it was Christian. It wasn't. The person was a lot smaller. When I climbed out of the cab, I realized it was Kate. Her back was to me, as she rang up to my apartment. I saw that she was wearing a very large white fur coat and high black leather boots, something Catwoman would be proud of.

"Hey," I said wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the bitter cold, and imagining myself in something as warm as a fur coat.

Kate spun. Her blonde hair whipped around her and settled perfectly. "Oh God!" She said sighing. "I love your hair, and you scared me."

"Sorry," What was she doing outside my apartment?

Her painted red lip smiled. "So, I came to apologize." She admitted.

"For what?" I was imagining her with half a head of black hair, and another half of white. She'd look exactly like Cruella De Vil.

"_That_ day." She explained as I lead her through the lobby and up the stairs to my apartment. "I didn't know that she would be there too."

"Leila, you mean?" I asked only hoping to get more information out of her.

"_Unfortunately_, yes."

Kate said as I walked into my apartment. "And it was like ages ago."

She followed me easily as if she'd been there thousands of times. "It's not even a big deal anymore, right?"

I took off my jacket and hung it up on one of the hooks by the door. Kate kept her huge coat on. "What's not a big deal anymore?" Christian never told me what happened to them. It was one on a long list of things Christian had never told me about himself.

Kate blinked. "Oh, he didn't tell you what happened?" She asked as if I didn't know who Elvis was.

I shook my head. "Ah, no."

Slowly Kate leaned towards me. "Leila _kinda_ used Christian. For money."

_What? _"Seriously?" My voice almost broke.

"Yeah, and they were well _kinda_ engaged. It was very brief though."

Christian was engaged. I probably shouldn't have been surprised, but I really was.

"And?"

"And…" Kate sighed. "He forgave her."

I almost frowned. That wasn't nearly as juicy as I hoped for. "Just like that?"

She shrugged. "It was a little more complicated, but he forgave her. Christian realized his mistake though."

And mistakes can ruin people's lives.

I didn't really understand but I knew Kate wasn't going to offer anymore. "Do you think Christian still loves her?"

She shook her head and laughed at me like I just said something really cute. "No, I don't think he ever really loved her."

"Why not?"

"There is a difference between liking someone and loving someone. Christian _liked_ Leila. He just got confused, I guess."

She flashed me that smile. "Look, I heard about your friend Elizabeth getting married. Since we're friends now," _We are? _"I think I should help you out with the bride's maid dresses."

"Ah…"

"Fantastic!" She pulled out a card from somewhere in that giant heap of fur. "Call me and come in. We'll do measurements." She was speaking fast about materials and proper seams as she strolled to the door. I nodded in agreement to everything she was saying only because it seemed the easiest. "Sound good?" She said with a smile that resembled Ava's.

"Yeah, thanks… for… whatever."

She waved. "You know, Ana, I think you'd be perfect for Christian. He needs someone who understands what it's like to be lonely. Well, Merry Christmas Eve." Then with a quick turn, she was gone. I wasn't exactly sure if her comment about me being lonely was good or bad. Was it true? Was I really lonely? Well it was Christmas Eve and I was alone. I could just stay here, or… I could go see Christian. I thought about it as I went to my bedroom where his unfinished paint job was. For the past few days I'd stared at it trying to think of something to say to him. Then I decided I was just going over to ask if we could start over. I showered and changed out of my dress and quickly left the apartment before I could change my mind. It took me forever to catch a cab. I almost talked myself out of it, but just as I was about to give up a free cab pulled up next to me.

Christian's light was on when I pulled up to his building. I practically ran up his stairs, but I managed to pause outside his door. I swallowed my queasiness and knocked briskly.

When he answered the door, I swear his eyes almost popped out of his head. I immediately started to ramble. "Okay, let's start over. We can just pretend the last week didn't happen. We'll just continue where we left off. Where did we leave off? Ah…" I quickly raked my brain. "Oh that would be when I almost ripped off your clothes. Let's just erase that too. Well, let's just erase everything and start over." He was just staring at me with a weird perplexed expression on his face. "Okay, I'll start." I said clearing my throat. "My name is Ana. What's yours?"

Christian simply slid the door open all the way. "Do you want help me decorate the Christmas tree?" He asked.

I bit my lip to hold back my smile. "Yes." Christian had this lopsided tree by the fireplace. It only had lights on it. I smiled at it. "It's so cute."

"I don't have many ornaments." He said walking over to the box marked Xmas. "Mia buys a new one every year."

"Is she here?" I asked looking around the room but only finding Bella snuggled up on the couch, her little paws dangling off the couch.

"No. She's with her family for Christmas."

"And she didn't invite you?"

He began pulling funny little ornaments out of the box and handing them to me. "She invited me. She invites me every year."

"Why don't you go?"

He shrugged. "Christmas is a family thing. I'm not really family."

I didn't ask any more questioned. Instead, I just placed the funny things he gave me on the tree. One was a mouse eating a cube of cheese.

I didn't know what that had to do with Christmas but it looked cute. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you." I said after a while.

"It's alright. I'm sorry for why I invited you."

"So we're even?" I asked.

He nodded. "We're even."

I didn't bring up the fact that he said he loved me. Or he thought he did. Or whatever he said. I felt like things were all right between us again and I didn't want to mess that up. "Why aren't you spending Christmas eve with your um... relatives?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear. "Because I'm spending it with you."

"Didn't they invite you?"

"Gail invites me every year. It's just that..."

"What?"

"Christmas is a family thing. I'm not really family." I said quoting him.

He didn't say anything and I didn't look up to see his expression. Instead, he waited a few minutes before he spoke. "I was going to make a fire… in the fireplace."

"All right." I said. I felt the butterflies in my stomach start up. Everything was awkward and I was sure I could smell the tension. Christian went over to the fireplace and threw some kindling in with the logs. Then he lit a match as I came around to rest my back against the couch. When the fire started going he came over to sit next to me. We didn't say anything at all. When I moved my hand and brushed my fingers against his we both pulled back as if it hurt. I put my hands on my lap and twined my fingers nervously.

"Ana," Christian said looking at the fire.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to kiss you."

My head snapped up to look at him. "Hmm?" I mumbled again.

"I'm telling you that now, because I don't want you to freak out or pull away. And I want you to know that I'm going to kiss you because I really want to, not because I have alternative motives like not smoking in three weeks. Even though it's really putting me on edge. Especially right now."

My throat was dry but I managed to speak. "All right."

He turned to me and I turned to him. He reached out and brushed his fingers over my cheek. "I'm forgetting all the moves."

I smiled a little and scooted closer to him so our crossed knees bumped. With his fingers still on my cheek I tipped my head up and pressed a very soft kiss against his lips. It only lasted a second but when I pulled away I felt like I'd just run a mile.

"I said I wanted to kiss you."

I bit my bottom lip. "I beat you to it."

His smile was lopsided when he kissed me again. This time longer, but just as soft. It felt ridiculously romantic kissing in front of a warm fire on Christmas Eve. "You smell like apples." He mumbled against the crook in my neck.

My breath was caught somewhere in my throat. "I… It's the shower gel I buy. It smells like apple cider."

His lips were just a whisper away from mine. "I'd like to just pretend you smell like apples for no apparent reason."

I smiled and he pressed a kiss against my neck. When his teeth scraped along my jaw I moaned. It felt like everything was happening slow, but also fast. I felt my fingers pulling at his clothes, and his sliding under my shirt. In one swift motion, I pulled the hem of Christian's shirt up until he had no choice but to draw it over his head. He did the same for my sweater and discarded it over his shoulder. His kisses were sending me over the edge. They got faster and more urgent. I wrapped my arms around his chest, marveling at how wide his shoulders were as he pushed me back against the floor.

When my fingers scraped along his back he stopped kissing me and looked down. "I wasn't looking for this." He said as the tips of his hair tickled my forehead.

"Neither was I."

"Maybe we should stop." He said completely unsure.

"Maybe." I answered weakly.

We didn't. Christian just lowered his lips to mine again. This time it was a frenzy. We couldn't seem to get enough of each other. His hands were everywhere practically making my eyes cross. When I was finally coherent enough I broke my lips away and asked, "Where's your wallet?"

"Why?"

"Do you still have that condom in it?"

His hands groped his pockets. "Ah…" He said looking. "It's around here, I swear to God."

I was breathing heavily as he eased his weight off me. I almost smiled at his mumbled curses, but then he froze. "Oh shit." He said.

"What?"

"No sudden movements." He whispered as he looked over my head. I craned my neck to see, and almost cried. Bella was sitting only feet away with Christian's worn wallet in her mouth. "Come here." He hissed to her. She just tilted her head at him.

I flipped over on my stomach, just as Christian was, and inched towards her. "Bella." I called. "Drop the wallet."

Christian jerked his arm out towards her, which made the dog scurry away as if it were a game. "I swear to God I'll turn you into glue." He growled.

"That's horses." I told him.

"Not the point." He said just as she began pulling things out of his wallet. First went his Starbucks gift card. She nibbled on it for a second before growing bored and pulling out the condom. Both our eyes went wide as she chewed it to shreds.

"That was so mean." I said frowning.

Christian simply collapsed and banged his head against the floor. "Please tell me you have one in that giant bag of yours."

"Sorry." I mumbled and I rested on my elbows. "Don't guys buy condoms in bulk?"

"I didn't even know you could."

"You can buy anything in bulk." I explained.

"Not on Christmas Eve you can't." He mumbled and checked his watch. "Actually it's Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I said blowing my bangs out of my face.

"Merry it is not…" He replied.

I looked over at him with his face pressed against the floor. On his arm was one of those Nicorette patches. I traced it with my finger. "Do these really work?" I asked.

"No." He moaned.

Smiling I leaned over and pressed my lips against it. "Poor baby."

Groaning he flipped over on his back. "Maybe this is a sign from God telling us not to have sex." He pondered.

"Or maybe the dog was just hungry."

"Maybe." He didn't say anything for a moment. "I like your hair." He decided at random.

I smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I like seeing your neck."

"Aren't you going to tell me all the things that are wrong with it?" I asked moving closer so I could look down at him.

"No. It's perfect." He said tracing his finger along it. I shivered and leaned down to kiss him but stopped short when I heard a loud drawn out moan.

"What the hell was that?"

Christian rolled his eyes. "People moved in downstairs, all they do is have sex." He turned back over on his stomach and pressed his ear to the floor. "This would be the fourth time today."

I pressed my ear against the warm floor and definitely heard the primitive sounds of people going at it. "That's so unfair."

"I bet we can beat them." He said smirking.

"What?"

He began rocking his body from side to side until the floor creaked rhythmically. After a minute or so he let out a loud groan. The sounds from downstairs stopped. I had to clap my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. "Moan with me." He said nudging my shoulder.

I tried my hardest but I only ended up laughing. When I finally managed to moan the couple downstairs only challenged us by practically screaming. Christian and I went trough the motions of pretending to have sex for a good ten minutes before the people downstairs began screaming obscenely.

We simply collapsed into a heap of laughs. My sides hurt and my cheeks were sore from smiling so widely. "That was almost as good as sex." I decided after we calmed down.

He looked over and flashed a smile. "Yeah, almost."

* * *

><p><span><strong>NEXT UPDATE- 15<strong>**TH**** JANUARY**

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Pieliettje<strong>_

_**Marie36017**_

_**Brb817**_

_**Shantiprime**_

_**Obsessionwgrey **_

_**Mimi nini **_

_**Ana13**_

_**Tracye M**_

_**Hang in there**_

_**Ahdz86**_- _yes Kate was asking Leila to stay away from Christian and Ana :)_

_**Tiffanynida69**_

_**Foggynights**_

_**Millarca666**_

_**Grey gaara**_

_**Greyshadesofsteele**_

_**Sadpanda96**_

_**Ashangl21**_

_**Grey steele fan**_

_**Ashley**_

_**Amy**_

_**Ladymolten**_

_**Northshorex02**_

_**Huntedone**_

_**Graypearls**_

_**Janeellove**_

_**Lena1034**_

_**Christian618**_

_**Khiyo Gizele**_

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_**Andrea**_

_**1961littlemissy**_

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_**Anonymous jj**_

_**Nataaaification**_

_**Lillyannerose**_

_**THNAK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ENCOURAGING WORDS! YOU GUYS ARE LIKE THE SWEETEST!**_

**_SO WHAT WAS YOUR FAVE MOMENT? PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS...ANYONE? :p_**

_**Char x**_


	13. Chapter 13: Huckleberries?

**A/N FIFTY SHADES OF GREY AND CHRISTIAN GREY SOLELY BELONGS TO E L JAMES. I OWN NOTHING.**

**Chapter 13: Huckleberries?**

* * *

><p>I awoke in the morning not exactly sure what was wrong.<p>

Deep in the back of my mind, I knew something wasn't the way it was supposed to be. I slowly opened my eyes but closed them at the sudden blind brightness. Turning over on my side, I fully expected to be greeted by my warm squishy pillow; instead, I felt hard cool leather. I bolted up immediately.

It took me a minute to remember where I was. Christian's place, Christmas day. It was all coming back. Blinking, I looked around suspecting to see Christian somewhere, instead I found Bella sitting on the couch opposite me. She was watching me with large brown eyes. I smiled at her.

My stomach started to flutter, that was first time I'd ever stayed over at a man's place. I felt a sort of silly giddiness as if I'd just broken a rule. Biting my lip to hold back my grin I tucked my short hair behind my ear. I'd actually slept with Christian. Well, not _slept_, but actual sleeping.

With a little laugh, I remembered how Christian had suggested that we both sleep on opposite couches.

_"Why?" I asked as he sat down opposite me._

_"It's a game." He said. The fire was still glowing, making his hair look more coppery if possible._

_I brought my knees up to my chest. "This doesn't sound like a very exciting game."_

_"It's a game of endurance." He lay down on his back and placed his hands under his head. "Are you up for it?"_

_"Maybe…"_

_"I sleep here. You sleep there. Whoever can go the longest without sneaking over to the other person's couch wins."_

_I laughed because it sounded silly but also extremely fun. "What does the winner win?"_

_"Breakfast." He decided quickly. "Anything they want. Looser has to make it."_

_"Deal." I grinned._

_"Deal." He said back._

_I don't exactly know how long it took for Christian to sneak his way over to me. I was somewhere drifting lightly in dreamland when I felt something brush across my cheek. When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking into Christian's grey eyes. He had that damn smirk on his face._

_"What do you want for breakfast?" He asked his face only a centimeter away from mine._

_"Grilled cheese sandwich." I picked at random. I couldn't exactly think with Christian's body hovering directly above mine._

_His smirk grew wider. "Then grilled cheese you shall have." When he lowered his body onto mine, I sighed peacefully and wrapped my arms around him tightly. His body was hard, heavy, but fit perfectly against mine. I couldn't remember ever feeling so blissful before._

Now, I was wondering where Christian was. He promised me breakfast.

I stood up and stretched my soar back. Bella jumped off the couch to skip over to me. I looked down at her as she danced around my ankles, just begging to be picked up. When I scooped her in my arms, she tried to lick my face. "I guess this is your first Christmas." I said to her. "I wonder if I can find something yummy for you to eat." Just as I was about to stroll into the kitchen something sitting on the coffee table caught my eye. It was a little sheet of paper.

I picked it up and quickly pulled it away when Bella tried to take a chunk out of it.

_"I'll be back soon. Look under the tree." _

It read in Christian's fast handwriting.

It wasn't a romantic love letter or anything, but I still blushed deeply when I read it. I practically skipped over to the tree and smiled when I saw the little present under it. Placing Bella down I sat crossed legged under the tree, just as I did as a kid, but this time it was better. No one was yelling and no one was fighting. The smell of pine trees completed everything. Really, what was Christmas without that fresh tree smell?

The box was about the size of a basketball. Christian had used bright red wrapping paper, but he obviously had trouble wrapping it. There were rips and excessive amounts of tape where he tried to fix it. He completed the look by added a large green bow on top. I took it off and stuck it to Bella's head. Holding the box up, I shook it gently and heard the definite sound of something rattling around inside. Tearing the paper was half the fun, I mused when Bella began to rip it apart.

When I got the box open, there was another piece of paper staring up at me. This time is said, _"It just reminded me of you"._

Looking down in the box again, I found a very strange looking piece of… machinery? It was small with little metal parts. I could see a few screws and springs. Confused I pulled it out of the box. It was tiny and only fit in the palm of my hand. There was a large metal cylinder with small little bumps going across all the nails and parts. That's when I realized what it was. It was the inside of a music box.

Turning it over, I found the little key. With a wide smile on my face, I turned it until it couldn't turn anymore. When I let go the little gears began to turn and a soft tune began.

I knew the song. _La Vie en Rose. _It made me a little sad because it was mother's favorite song.

"_Quand il me prend dans ses bras_

_Il me parle tout bas_

_Je vois la vie en rose"_

It was probably the sappiest song of all time. I never really cared for it when I was younger, but I really did get a little misty when I heard it being plucked by the insides of a music box.

When it stopped, I wound it back up so the song would play over and over again in my hand. My mother used to dance to it in the kitchen as if she didn't have a care in the world. I doubt she never knew what the words meant. She just liked the way it sounded.

It definitely made me sad. But not in a really depressing way, if that made any sense.

At some point in the middle of the third wound, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I nearly jumped right of my skin and whirled around. Christian was standing over me holding a large brown paper bag from the grocery store. He had a small smile on his face, but it disappeared quickly. "Why are you crying?" He asked alarmed as he crouched down next to me.

_Crying? _Was I? I wiped my tears quickly, feeling stupid. "I'm not. Did you go to the store? I thought everything was closed?"

"You are crying. And the place around the corner is open 24/7 even on holidays."

I looked down at the mechanism in my hand. "Oh," I wiped my eyes again. "I'm just… grateful." I smiled.

"Grateful?"

"Yes, thank you for this." I held up the device. "It's beautiful."

His smile appeared again. "Beautiful? It's just the guts of an old music box."

I shook my head. "No, I love it. I feel bad for not getting you anything."

"It's not a big deal."

"It is. It's Christmas, and I didn't get you anything."

"Would it be really cheesy to say all I want for Christmas is you?"

I never really considered myself a romantic person, but at that moment, I was practically beaming. "Yes, it would." I laughed.

"Oh," He said standing up then holding out his hand for me. I took it and let him help me up. "Then I guess I won't say it. It might ruin my reputation as an angst-ridden artist. Come on, I owe you breakfast."

There were many things I hadn't seen before and this was one of them. Christian was definitely making me my grilled cheese, but he wasn't using the stove. In his hand was an iron, yes a clothes iron. I watched completely shocked as he pressed it down on the buttered bread. It sizzled and smoked for a few seconds before he flipped the sandwich over and repeated.

"You amaze me sometimes." I said then boosted myself onto the counter next to him.

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that one." He said smugly. I continued to simply stare at him. He noticed and glared at me

"What?"

"I really don't know anything about you. Other than you're an artist, you once donated your bone marrow, you have a drunk rich mother, and you _were _in love with a girl who didn't love you back." I said picking up an apple from the fruit basket and peeling off the sticker.

"That sounds about right."

"Fill in the gaps for me. I mean, if we're going to sleep together I think I should know a little about you." _Not like that ever mattered before, _bickered the little voice in my head. I pushed that voice away.

He began spreading butter onto the second sandwich. "Ask the questions."

Crossing one leg over the other, I shinned my apple on my shirt. "What's your last name?"

"Grey." He answered.

"Christian Grey." I said slowly. "Hm...When's your birthday?"

"June 18th."

"Favorite color?"

"Don't have one."

I stopped and blinked at him. "Everyone has a favorite color."

"How could anybody know that for sure?" He asked then pressed the hot iron onto the sandwich.

"You're really telling me you don't have a favorite color?"

"I'm really telling you that." He confirmed. "I like them all, I guess."

Deciding my next question, I bit into the large red apple. "What's your favorite food?"

"_Alphaghettis_." He didn't even have to think about it.

I raised an eyebrow. "Alpha what?"

"Ghettis. Alphaghettis." He said casually.

I eyed him suspiciously. "Say it again."

"Alphaghettis."

"Okay, I give. What exactly are Alphaghettis?"

He rolled his eyes as if it was a crime not knowing what Alpha… whatever was. "Alphabet noodles in spaghettis sauce. You know, the stuff kids eat."

"And you like this...alphabet noodle stuff?"

"No I _love _it."

I paused a minute then reached out and brushed his hair from his forehead just because I could. "Christian, you amaze me." He smiled and handed me a plate with my very own grilled cheese sandwich on it. "It looks delicious." I smiled.

"It probably tastes good too." He said then leaned over and kissed me. When he pulled back I looked down at the sandwich and guessed his lips tasted a thousand times better. Somehow, I managed to place the plate down with a loud clatter. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. Sitting on the counted made us the same height, which worked perfectly. The apple I was holding fell to the ground with a squishy thud. It was about the same sound my heart made when I dragged his lips against mine.

It's hard to say exactly when we got around to eating those grilled cheese sandwiches.

* * *

><p>Christian was right. The place around the corner was open 247. We went there after I called Hannah who was coming over for dinner and asked her what she wanted for dinner. She said she didn't care, which wasn't helpful at all.

"What about turkey?" I asked while holding onto the front of the shopping cart while Christian wheeled it around the store.

"I don't think I should allow you near poultry." He said picking up a box of chocolate cookies and throwing them into the cart.

"Fine, I can't cook. What else is new?" I sighed and looked down into the cart. It was filled with junk food. _"Lucky Charms?" _I asked. "Are you five years old?"

"They're magically delicious." He winked at me.

We turned a corner and went down another aisle with all the canned goods. Christian stopped suddenly almost causing me to stumble off the cart. "Look, Alphaghettis!" He said handing me a can.

Just looking at the can, one could tell it was completely for kids. I frowned. "I can't believe you eat this stuff."

"You should have it for Christmas dinner." He suggested.

I shot him a _look_. "Christian, I can't have Alpha...geh…"

"Alphaghettis." He said for me.

"I can't have that for dinner." I put the can back on the shelf. "And it's not, '_you should have it for Christmas dinner'_, it's _'__we __should have it for Christmas _dinner'. Which we're not." I told him very as a matter-of-fact.

He raised his eyebrows and took the can from the shelf again. "Did you just invite me to dinner?"

"Yes."

He put the can in the cart. "I don't know," He shrugged. "I was just going to order some Chinese."

"You can't spend Christmas alone."

"Why not?"

"Because I just invited you."

He thought about it. "So...what?" He said pulling another can from the shelf. "It's just you, Hannah and me?" He asked. I nodded and he frowned. "Sounds like fun." He mumbled sarcastically and added another Alphaghettis to the cart.

We went around the grocery store picking up stuff. It didn't take long before we were down the personal care aisle. Christian stopped beside the condom rack where two very embarrassed teenagers were standing. They scrammed the second we got there.

I laughed and watched them go. "That was _so_ cute."

"Oh my God, these glow in the dark!" Christian said probably a little too loudly as he examined a box. A woman a few meters away, who was busy trying to decide over _Advil _or _Tylenol _looked up at us and shook her head in disgust. "I guess that would be helpful in a power outage." He decided.

I dropped my head and chuckled. "Put them back."

"Look this one taste like grape." He said picking up another box. "And these ones are _citrus_."

I couldn't stop laughing, so I grabbed a box for myself. "Oh, look. Happy faces." I said showing them to Christian. He just rolled his eyes.

"Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, apple, honey...hey! They have more flavors than an ice-cream shop! Isn't that cool?!"

We spent about five minutes laughing at the strange types of condoms on display until Christian grabbed and box and looked completely baffled.

"Huckleberry flavor?" He asked. "Huckleberry is actually a berry?"

"How could you not know that? It's a huckle_berry_." I emphasized on that last part of the word.

"I just thought it was the name of a fictional character." He quickly grabbed a regular box and threw them into the cart. "We _have _to go find these berries."

Alpheghettis looked nasty. They were all goopy and… nasty. There weren't very many words for it.

"You're going to overcook them." Christian said from my kitchen table.

"How can you overcook microwavable noodles?" I asked when the ding sounded. The sauce was bubbling when I took them out. "This looks like dog food."

I placed it on the table next to the other bowls. Hannah was supposed to show up any moment, and I had set the table perfectly. The entire cutlery matched which was a huge plus for me. There weren't really any hors d'oeuvres except the huckleberries and lucky charms. It was pathetic how bad my Christmas dinner had gotten.

"This is so sad. Why did we buy Alpheghettis?" I asked looking down at the food.

"Because you can't cook, and neither can I." All of a sudden, Christian was behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and nuzzling the back of my neck. "Do you know what I'd do if Hannah wasn't coming over?" He breathed against my ear.

I felt my stomach tighten in excitement. "What?"

He was about to tell me when the doorbell rang. "Perfect timing." He mumbled and let go of me.

After straightening my, dress, I raced off to answer the door. Hannah was standing there with a present under her arm. She immediately held it out for me. "Merry Christmas." She smiled.

I grinned and took it. It felt like a book. "What is it?"

"Opening it might solve that question. Do I smell Alphaghettis?" She asked taking a step inside.

I gaped at her. "You're joking. You know what Alphaghettis are?"

"Of course." She strolled into the kitchen.

"Hey." Christian said.

"Hi."

Hannah sat down and peered at Christian from across the table. "Alphaghettis, huh?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah." Was all Christian said.

I watched them oddly. "You are both so weird."

I simply rolled my eyes and left the room for the gifts I'd been saving. They were stuffed under my bed. When I returned to the kitchen, I handed them their gifts.

Christian looked a little confused. "You said you didn't get me anything." He inspected the package. It was obviously a book, anyone could tell.

"I lied." Grinning I popped a huckleberry in my mouth.

We all decided to open our presents right then and there. I placed the Hannah's gift on my lap and tore at the happy paper with elves on it. I swear I gasped. There on my lap was _'365 sex positions."_ I was so surprised I almost cried.

_Um_..."Gee Hannah...Thanks!"

"I thought you might need some excitement in your life after all." She said winking towards me.

When we both looked over at Christian, he had this blank stare on his face. He was looking down at the book I'd gotten him as if it were very serious. _Crap… he didn't like it_. I suddenly felt stupid. Of course, Christian didn't want an art book. He was already an artist. Why did he need to look at famous paintings in a book?

"You know…" I said. "You don't have to keep it. I have the receipt-"

"This is the single most thoughtful gift anybody has ever given me." He said looking up and locking his eyes with mine. I felt my breath catch in my throat and my stomach roll. "Thank you."

I managed to smile. "Your welcome." Feeling completely relieved, I pushed back my hair and cleared my throat. "Well, are we going to say grace or something?" I asked.

Hannah shrugged. "I guess…"

"Who wants to do it?" I asked. No one said anything. "Fine, I'll do it." I cleared my throat and grabbed Hannah and Christian's hand. "Um… thanks God for the Alphaghettis, and for huckleberries fictional or otherwise, and the… glow in the dark condoms-"

"What?" Hannah asked. I shushed her.

"And for grilled cheese sandwiches. Amen."

"_Amen_." Christian and Hannah said at the same time.

Alphaghettis were the nastiest noodles I'd ever tasted, but Christian and Hannah were eating up as if they were going to starve without it. I didn't get it. I could probably find better tasting food in the garbage, but there they were sucking it up. "Are you going to eat that?" Hannah asked.

I shook my head and pushed the bowl towards her. She gladly accepted. For a small petite girl sometimes Hannah ate like a horse.

* * *

><p>Hannah left around ten after we all had enough wine to drink, but Christian stayed.<p>

I was cleaning up the kitchen when I heard Christian come in. I was actually nervous being alone with him, and it felt good. "I still can't believe that we ate Alphagettis for Christmas dinner." I said to him without turning.

"Actually, only me and Hannah ate, you on the other hand were just staring at us." He said. "Turn around."

Confused I did and saw Christian leaning against the doorjamb.

"What?" I asked.

"I just like to look at you."

It felt like someone had turned up the temperature. "You're good at that."

"At what?"

"Making me forget what I was thinking."

He smiled slowly and came towards me. "Ah, I'm going to have to seduce you." He said as he boxed me in against the counter.

"Seduce me? You can try."

"I think I do more than try." He skimmed his finger down my arm making my heart surge. "You know what I like about you?"

"No, tell me."

"This birthmark." He pressed his finger against the small brown dot on the inside of my forearm.

"That one?"

"Yes, that one."

"What about all the other birthmarks I have?"

"I have yet to find those." He said with a teasing smirk. "Just like your tattoo."

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling. "Why is this one so special?" I asked and held up my arm.

"Because it's exactly where is should be." He explained and lifted my arm to place a kiss against it. My heart literally melted. I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned forward but he pushed me back. "Hold on. It's my turn to ask the questions."

"Questions?"

"What's your last name?"

"Steele."

He smiled. "Anastasia Steele. Ana Steele." I liked the way he said my name. "Anastasia sounds better. I think that's what I'm going to call you tonight. When's your birthday?"

"September…" I breathed when his mouth was just an inch away.

"September what?"

"Ah…" I didn't know. Who the hell cared when my birthday was? "Um…"

"You stopped thinking again, Anastasia." He said pulling me away from the counter as he began herding me towards the bedroom. My eyes were locked with his the entire way. "You know, I'd really like to find that tattoo of yours."

"I don't think a man like you is going to let a few clothes get in his way." I was amazed that I actually could form a sentence. Christian made me feel dizzy and out of control, but in all the good ways.

"You're right." He said, reached forward, and ripped open the front of my shirt. I gasped as the buttons hit the floor. Christian began to laugh. "Ha! I got my revenge. Do you know how much is costs to return a ripped tux? I bet you don't."

I glared. "That was a little evil."

"I do my best."

Feeling reckless, I laced my fingers around his neck and kissed him hard. When we made it to the room, we could barely find the bed. I managed to get the upper hand when my fingers slipped under his shirt and skimmed across his ribcage. He shuddered. Breathlessly, I looked down at him and smirked my own smirk. "I found your spot."

"My spot?" He asked a little dazed.

"Yeah, right here." I pressed down on his ribcage and he jolted.

"You're driving me crazy, Anastasia."

I grinned. "I'm sure I can do better than crazy."

"Oh really?" Christian breathed against my ear.

"Uh huh." I said kissing his jaw and his neck while straddling him.

Before I could realize what was happening Christian pushed me on to the mattress with him on top of me and kissed me hard.

"I guess its time to try out those _huckleberries_."

* * *

><p>Later when I was sure he was asleep, I lifted arm to trace the birthmark there. I'd never really noticed it before. It <em>was <em>just a birthmark, right?

I dropped my arm and stared at the ceiling. Why was it I never could fall asleep after sex? I shifted a little and realized my leg was hooked around Christian's. If I were at Ethan's I would have slowly maneuvered my way out of his bed. But lying there with Christian, I couldn't think of any reasons why I would. That thought actually made me shiver.

"Cold?" Christian asked.

So he wasn't asleep. I turned onto my side and looked up at him. "No. I'm perfect."

I saw him smile, not a smirk, an actual smile. "You should get those glow in the dark stars for your ceiling."

"Why?"

"They make you think better." He said, but I didn't understand.

I pushed myself up until I was on my elbows and looking down at his face. He was smiling up at me, and there on his left cheek was a dimple.

"I didn't know you had a dimple." I said.

"I don't."

"It's right there." I said rubbing my thump over it.

Christian reached up and touched it. "I didn't know that was there."

"Maybe you never smiled this way before."

"Maybe I never had a reason to."

My heart swelled and I leaned down to kiss his newfound dimple. "This has been the most perfect day in my entire life." I was completely sincere.

Christian wrapped his arms around me and trailed his finger up and down my scarred spine. "There's always _tomorrow_."

"I have to work tomorrow."

"There are _lots of tomorrows_."

Suddenly feeling very tired I curled against his body and rested my head in the crook of his neck. "I've never let anyone sleep in my bed before." I told him quietly in the dark.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No," I tightened my grip on him. "I just want to go to sleep."

"Okay." He said kissing my forehead.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN Okay so I know the Sex Scene wasn't that all that sexy! Because I can't write EROTICA! At all! I swear to god, I it would have been worse than Gail's "PLANK OF PASSION" LMAO **_

_**I'm no E L James *sniffles* btw can any of you write an erotica?! Give me some tips? Because I suck at it. Literally! *SIGHS***_

_**SO WHAT WAS YOUR FAVE MOMENT FROM THIS CHAPTER? **_

_**PENNY...ERR...HUCKLEBERRIES FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, ANYONE? :)**_

_**Charlotte x**_


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